ROSACEAE ROSE FAMILY. 
PALE CINQUEFOIL. ROUGH-FRUITED CINQUEFOIL 
Potentilla recta L. 
Former belief in the medicinal powers of this plant 
accounts for the generic name, from the Greek patens 
meaning powerful. 
The Pale Cinquefoil, 
blooming from June to 
September, is a hand- 
some species entirely 
suitable for cultivation 
as a garden flower. It is 
a native of Asia and 
since its introduction 
into this country has 
become quite common 
in waste places in most 
of the northeastern 
states. 
The plant is erect, 
1-2 feet high, rather 
stout, very hairy and 
considerably branched. 
The leaves are divided 
into 5-7 leaflets and all 
but the uppermost are petioled. They are green on both sides 
and quite hairy, especially below. 
Its flowers are larger and lighter yellow than those of most 
other species. The green calyx is 5-cleft and has a bractlet in 
each sinus. The 5 showy yellow petals are notched. There are 
about 20 stamens and many pistils with slender styles. The fruits 
are akenes whose rough surfaces account for the name Rough- 
fruited Cinquefoil. 
In the bogs of northern Illinois the Shrubby Cinquefoil, Poten- 
tilla fruticosa L., is found. It is strictly a northern plant, being 
found in Greenland, Labrador and Alaska, south to New Jersey, 
northern I]linois, Minnesota and in the mountains to Arizona and 
California. This is a very leafy, much-branched shrub that grows 
6-48 inches high and in some places is a troublesome weed. The 
leaves are pinnately compound, having 5-7 silky narrow oblong 
leaflets. The yellow flowers are produced abundantly from June 
to September. 
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