Potentilla hippiana (Woolly Cinquefoil) - photos and description
Basal
leaf in above photo
Stem leaf
in above photo
General: Plants with woolly stems branching from
crown, stems decumbent to erect.
The plant photographed above is P. hippiana var. argyrea (common name
Silvery Cinquefoil) identified by both top and bottom of leaflets white woolly;
it's listed as fairly common, we see this variety all the time in the Cypress Hills.
Flowers: Flowers yellow in terminal cymes; flower measured to 12 mm diameter. Petals measured to 5 mm. Sepals grey-woolly, deltoid, measured at 5 mm long by 3 mm wide. Outer bractlets green-grey, linear-lanceolate, measured at 4 mm long by 1 mm wide. The outer floral ring grows in a plane perpendicular to the stem.
Leaves: Basal leaves pinnate to 11 leaflets, leaflets dentate (and not deeply divided). The basal leaves on these plants were white-woolly on both sides. Stem leaves alternate, reduced in size upwards and have 5 or fewer leaflets.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 25 cm. We measured plants to 36 cm tall.
Habitat: Prairies and hills in southwest Saskatchewan.
Abundance: Common.
Origin: Native.
When and where photographed: The above photos were taken June 30th, prairie hillside, Cypress Hills about 400 km southwest of our home in Regina, SK.