ROSE FAMILY 93 



of the enlarged torus — the end of the flower- 

 stalk — which forms the edible part of the fruit, 

 while in the latter there is an edible pulp sur- 

 rounding each tiny seed. 



CiNQUEFOiLS. Several distinct species of Po- 

 tentilla or Cinquefoil are abundant over a large 

 part of the northern states and Canada. The 

 two most important from our present point of 

 view are the Common Cinquefoil and the Silvery 

 Cinquefoil. 



The Common Cinquefoil has yellow flowers, 

 nearly half an inch in diameter, that resemble 

 miniature strawberry blossoms in their structure, 

 although the color of the petals is so different. 

 Like the strawberry, too, the plant spreads over 

 the ground by long and slender runners, which 

 often produce a thick carpet of plants in fields and 

 along highways, the running stems being smooth 

 and almost wire-like. The name Cinquefoil is 

 from the French and means five-fingers, so called 

 because of the five-parted leaf so characteristic 

 of the plant, which indeed with us is quite gener- 

 ally called the Five-fingers. 



The Silvery Cinquefoil is at once distinguished 

 by its whitened appearance, especially on the 

 smaller stems and the lower surface of the leaves. 

 The yellow flowers are only about a quarter of 

 an inch in diameter and are borne on short, slender 

 stems. Like the Common Cinquefoil the species 



