276 YELLOW '10 ORANGE 



Unattractive as is the coarse foliage of the Gciuns, yet their 

 primrose-tinted blossoms gleam like jewels of pale gold amidst 

 the dark green leaves, and these redeem the plants from utter 

 uffliness. 



COMMON CINQUEFOIL 



PotentiUa dissccta. Rose Family 



Stems: decumbent or ascending. Leaves: pinnate; leaflets five to 

 seven, the upper one incisely pinnatind, dentate. Flowers: few, in an 

 open cyme. 



This is a low alpine plant, more or less silky and hairy, and 

 has a yellow flower with a five-lobed calyx and five roundish 

 petals. It resembles a miniature rose. The foliage consists of 

 from five to seven toothed leaflets on each stem, the terminal 

 leaflet being three-lobed at the apex. 



There are several varieties of this species : P. dissecta var. 

 glaiicopJiylla has smooth green leaves ; P. dissccta var. vuilti- 

 sccta has whitish silky foliage, each leaflet being long and 

 narrow ; and P . dissccta var. piiiiiatisccta has more numerous 

 leaflets and a one-flowered stem, which grows only about three 

 inches high, the whole plant being smooth, with the exception 

 of the hairy calyx and tufted apices of the leaves. 



Many of the Cinquefoils {cinque, "five" ; fcuil/cs, "leaves") 

 have fiv^e -parted leaves, hence their common name. 



P. Anscrina, or Silver-weed, is a tufted plant, with elcMigatcd 

 pinnate leaves composed of from seven to seventeen leaflets, 

 which arc sharply toothed, green, and smooth on the top, and 

 very silky and whitish underneath. A characteristic feature 

 of the Silver-weed is the minute pairs of leaflets which grow 

 between tin- real leaflets. l)ut are merely tiny pointed growths. 

 The yellow flowers, which are typical of the whole genus and 

 have five bracts, five sepals, five petals, and numerous stamens, 

 grow on slender naked stalks that spiing from tlie axils of the 



