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 ot 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 Illinois, 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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