126 ROSACES. [POTENTILLA. 



often serrate. DISTRIB. Arctic and N. and S. temp, regions, Himalaya. 

 Rootstock eaten in times of scarcity in the Hebrides. 



9. P. Fragarias'trum, Ehrh. ; leaves 3-foliolate, leaflets obovate, 

 flowers white, achenes hairy below reticulate. Fraga'ria ster'ilis, L. 

 Waysides, woods, and banks, N. to Caithness; ascends to 2,100 ft. in Wales; 



Ireland ; Channel Islands ; fl. March-May. Similar to Frayaria ves'ca, but has 

 no runners, nerves of leaflets not sunk above, and fruit very different. More 

 or less hairy or silky. Rootstock stout, woody, branched, depressed. Leaves 

 2-6 in., tufted ; petiole with spreading hairs ; leaflets |-1 in., coarsely 

 crenate towards the tip, very hairy beneath. Flowering stems 1-6 in., 

 axillary, slender, naked or 1-2-leavecl, 1-3-fld. Flowers ^ in. diam. 

 Receptacle with very long hairs. DISTRIB. Europe, N. Africa. 



f * Flowering stems annual, terminating the branches of the perennial rootstock. 

 Receptacle hairy. 



10. P. rupes'tris, L. ; leaves pinnate, radical 5- cauline 3-foliolate, 

 flowers white. 



Rocks, Craig Breidden, Montgomery ; fl. May-June. Hairy, especially below. 

 Rootstock woody, branched. Stems 1-2 ft., erect, branched above. Radical 

 leaves 3-6 in., petiole very slender; leaflets f-1 in., unequal at the base, 

 oblong or obliquely obovate, irregularly crenate ; cauline few, subsessile. 

 Flowers few, f-1 in. diam. Achenes smooth, glabrous. DISTRIB. From 

 Gothland southd., N. and W. Asia, Kashmir. 



11. P. argen'tea,o L. ; leaves digitately 5-foliolate, leaflets cuneate 

 much cut white beneath, flowers yellow. 



Dry pastures and roadsides; from Elgin and E. Scotland southd., local; 

 Channel Islands ; fl. June-July. More or less covered, especially the leaves 

 beneath, with white appressed wool. Rootstock short, woody. Stems 6-18 

 in., slender, suberect or decumbent, branched, leafy ; branches divaricating. 

 Leaves petioled, upper most sessile ; leaflets |-1| in., narrowly cuneate, 

 ^-pinnatifid upwards, margins recurved. Flowers ^-| in. diam., subcorym- 

 bose. Achenes smooth, glabrous. DISTRIB. Europe (Arctic), N. and "W. 

 Asia, Himalaya, N. America. 



*** Root annual. 

 P. NORVE'GICA, L. ; hirsute, leaves palmately 3-foliolate, leaflets oblan- 



ceolate coarsely-toothed, flowers yellow. 



Middlesex, Hertford, York ; naturalized and apparently rapidly spreading ; 

 fl. July. Stem stout, simple below, erect; 8-10 in. ; rarely branched above, 

 rarely at the base and decumbent. Leaves 1-2 in. diam., petiole slender, 

 leaflets 1-2 in., serrate nearly to the base. Flowers in crowded terminal 

 cymes, \ in. diam. Petals stouter than the calyx, obovate. Achenes rugose, 

 DISTRIB. Europe, temp, and Arctic Asia and America. Though usually 

 annual, specimens from the Kolyma river in Siberia have a perennial 

 rootstock. 



8. ALCHEMIL LA, L. LADY'S MANTLE. 



Annual or perennial herbs. Leaves orbicular, lobed or deeply divided ; 

 stipules sheathing and adnate to the petiole. Flowers minute, in scorpioid 



