MEMOIRS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 49 
§ 5. ARGENTEAE. 
21. Potentilla intermedia IL. 
Potentilla intermedia LL. Mant. Pl. 76. 1767. 
Willd. Sp. Pl. 2: 1101; Poir. in Lam. Enc. Meth. 5: 590; Ait. Hort. Kew. Ed. 2, 8: 
276; Persoon, Syn. Pl. 2: 54; Haller, Syn. Pot. 54; Ser. in DC. Prodr. 2: 577; Ledeb. 
FI]. Ross. 2: 49; Lehm. Rey. Pot. 102; Don, Gard. Dict. 2: 554; Dietrich, Syn. Pl. 3: 
182; Walp. Ann. 2: 493. 
Rydb. Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, 24: 9; Britt. & Brown, Ill. Fl. 2: 210. 
Potentilla digitata-flabellata A. Br. & Bouché, Ind. Sem. Hort. Ber. 1851: 3. 1851. 
Lehm. Rev. Pot. 101. 1856. 
Inuustrations: Lehm. Rev. Pot. pl. 41; Britt. & Brown, Ill. Fl. 2: f. 1916. Pate 
12, f. 1; dissection of flower, f. 2; pistil, f. 3; stamen, f. 4; fruiting hypanthium and 
calyx f. 5. 
Stem 4-7 dm. high, generally ascending, very leafy and much branched, green or 
tinged with brown or purple, finely pubescent with sparse long hairs. Stipules ovate, 
acute, mostly entire. Leaves green and finely hirsute on both sides and somewhat 
tomentulose beneath the basal on petioles 1-2 dm. long, digitate, with 5 obovate leaflets 
38-6 cm. long. Stem leaves quinate or ternate, with oblong or oblanceolate leaflets, the 
lower short-petioled, the upper sessile, the teeth ovate-oblong, rather obtuse. Hypan- 
thium hirsute, in fruit 6-8 mm. in diameter. Bractlets oblong or oblong-oval, obtuse or 
acute, nearly equalling the triangular-ovate acute sepals. Flowers nearly 1 cm. in diam- 
eter. Petals obcordate, about equalling the sepals. 
This species greatly resembles P. Monspeliensis, especially var. Norvegica, and in this 
country it has been mistaken for it. It differs mainly in the mostly 5-foliolate leaves, 
the perennial root and the style. The species is sparingly introduced in the East. Some 
of the specimens examined are : 
New Jersey and New York: Addison Brown, 1880 and 1881. 
Massachusetts: M. L. Fernald, 1891. 
Michigan: G. H. Hicks. 
Mr. Fernald’s specimens have deeper incised leaflets, especially the middle one, and 
resemble perfectly specimens of P. digitato-flabellata sent to Dr. Gray from the Botanic 
Garden at Danzig. Thisspecies is said to be a native of North America but I cannot find 
any character that would separate it from P. intermedia. 
