Potentilla gracilis

Potentilla gracilis, known as slender cinquefoil[1] or graceful cinquefoil,[2] is a species of cinquefoil. It ranges from Alaska down the west coast of Canada and the United States, and Colorado.

Potentilla gracilis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Potentilla
Species:
P. gracilis
Binomial name
Potentilla gracilis
Synonyms

Potentilla flabelliformis Lehm. Potentilla pectinisecta Rydb.

Named varieties are:

  • Potentilla gracilis var. elmeri (Rydb.) Jeps. – combleaf cinquefoil
  • Potentilla gracilis var. flabelliformis (Lehm.) Nutt.

This perennial herb is variable in morphology, growing several erect stems up to a meter tall[3] from a branching caudex and rhizome unit. The leaves are palmate and compound,[2] each divided into five to seven wide lance-shaped leaflets with toothed edges. The leaflets are hairy, with many more hairs on the undersides, making them lighter in color than the top surfaces. The basal leaves are borne on very long petioles. Leaves higher on the stem are smaller and reduced. The inflorescence is a cyme of several flowers, each with usually five sepals, lower bracts, and yellow petals.[3]

It is a larval host to the two-banded checkered skipper.[4]

References
  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Potentilla gracilis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  2. Mackinnon/Pojar/Coupe. Plants of Northern British Columbia. BC Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine Publishing, 1992. ISBN 1-55105-015-3
  3. Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 124. ISBN 0-87842-280-3. OCLC 25708726.
  4. The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.


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