POTENTILLA. ROSACEiE. 209 



4. PoTENTiLLA ARGENTEA, Linu. SUver-leavcd Cinquefoil. 



Stems ascending, corymbose at the summit, tomentose ; leaflets oblong-cuneiform, laciniate- 

 ly pinnalifid or incised, entire towards tiic base, revolutc on the margin, smooth above, white 

 and downy underneath ; flowers crowded ; petals obovate, retuse, longer than the calyx. — 

 Linn. sp. 1. p. 497 ; Engl. hot. t. 89 ; Pursh, fl. \. p. 355 ; Torr. fl. \.p. 497 ; Bigel. fl. 

 Bost.p. 204; DC. prodr. 2. p. 576; Beck, hot. p. 106; Torr. ^ Gr.fi. N. Am. l.p. 441. 



Root perennial, somewhat woody. Stems at first nearly erect, finally spreading and 

 ascending. Lower leaves petiolale ; upper ones nearly sessile : leaflets variable in breadth, 

 the under surface clothed with a dense white wool. Stipules ovate, acuminate, somewhat cut. 

 Corymbs spreading, many-flowered ; the flowers small. Bracteoles nearly as broad and long 

 as the segments of the calyx. Petals bright yellow. Ovaries smooth : style straight, nearly 

 terminal. 



Barren hills and fields ; rather common. June - September. A native also of Europe, 

 and possibly only an introduced plant in this country. 



•♦• Leaves pinnate. 



5. PoTENTiLLA ARGUTA, PuvsJi. Close-Jlowered Cinquefoil. 

 Stem erect, very pubescent ; the upper part, and also the peduncles and caly.T, villous and 



viscid : radical leaves pinnately 7 - 9-foliolate , the cauline ones few, 3 - 7-foliolate ; leaflets 

 roundish-ovate, incised or doubly serrate, pubescent underneath ; stipules toothed or entire ; 

 flowers in a more or less crowded cyme ; petals (yellowish-white) roundish-obovate, rather 

 longer than the calyx ; disk glandular, thickened, 5-lobed. — Pursh, fl. 2. p. 636 ; Richards, 

 app. Frankl. journ. ed. 2. p. 20 ; Lindl. hot. reg. t. 137 ; Hook.fi. Bor.-Am. 1 . p. 186. t. 63; 

 Torr. (^ Gr. fl. N. Am. 1. p. 445. P. confertiflora, Torr. fl. I. p. 449 ; Lehm. stirp. pug. 

 3. p. 24. P. Pennsylvanica, /3. arguta, Torr. in ann. lye. N. York, 2. p. 197, not of DC 

 Geum agrimonioides, Pursh, fl. I. p. 351. Boottia sylvestris, Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 206. 



Root perennial. Stem from 18 inches to 3 feet high, simple, clothed with a brownish 

 pubescence which is glutinous when young. Radical leaves on long peduncles ; leaflets 

 1—2 inches long, often with much smaller ones at the base. Flowers aggregated in small 

 corymbose cymes at the extremity of the peduncles. Bracteoles lanceolate, a little shorter 

 than the oblong-acute segments of the calyx. Petals cream-color or nearly white. Stamens 

 inserted on the edge of the 5-lobed disk at the base of the calyx. Ovaries smooth, compressed : 

 style very thick and fusiform : stigma oblong, minute. Receptacle villous. 



Rocky hills, particularly on the banks of lakes and rivers ; not uncommon in the High- 

 lands, as at West-Point and on Polybell's Island ; shores of Lake Champlain ; near Troy, 

 &c. June. 



The thickened styles of tiiis species consist chiefly of large oblong cells filled with a thick 

 yellow gummy matter, which is soluble in water. I have noticed the same structure, but 

 with much smaller cells, in several other species of PotentilUi. 

 [Floba.] 27 



