152 R0SACEJ3. [Potentilla. 



In woods, groves, meadows, pastures, on ditch- and hedgebiinks, waste ground, 

 and by waysides ; abundantly. ^Z. June — September. If. 



B. Petals white. 



*** Leaves ternate. 



4. P. Fragariastrum, Ehrh. Strawhery - leaved Cmquefoil. 

 Barren Straioberry. Leaves ternate, leaflets obovate deeply ser- 

 rated silky on both sides, petals obcordate as long as the calyx, 

 seeds wrinkled hairy at the scar, stems procumbent. Sm. E. Fl. 

 ii. p. 425. Br. Fl. p. 124. E. B. xxv. t. 1785. Curt. Fl. Lond. 

 i. fasc. 3, t. 30. 



In dry woods, pastures, groves, and on hedgebanls ; abundantly. Fl. March 

 —May. !(.. 



Root thick, woody, nearly simple, flexuose, creeping, with a dark reddish brown 

 wrinkled bark, clothed at top with the withered footstalks of former leaves. Stems 

 several, from the crown of the root, from a few inches to about a ^pau long, round, 

 leafy, decumbent but not rooting,* somewhat ascending, and usually emitting 

 tufts of leaves and flower-scapes at their extremities ; covered, like every part of 

 the plant except the root, with fine, spreading, silky hairs, often becoming quite 

 woody. Leaves ternate, on very long channelled petioles, the radical ones form- 

 ing a tuft at the crown of the root, the rest mostly crowded at the extremity of the 

 shoots or decumbent branches ; leaflets scarcely above an inch long at most, dull 

 green, very soft and hairy, especially along the nerves and midrib underneath, 

 the terminal one cuneato-obovate, very shortly stalked, wedge-shaped and entire 

 at base ; the 2 lateral leaflets roundish ovate, nearly sessile, entire below on their 

 inner side only, all strongly but evenly crenato-serrate, the terminal serrature of 

 each leaflet much smaller and shorter than the rest. Stipules large, pale and 

 membranaceous, closely combined and sheathing below, cleft above into 2 ovate 

 or ovatn-lanceolate, acuminate and diverging lobes, glabrous on their upper sur- 

 face. Scapes lax, mostly longer than the leaves, from the base of which they 

 spring, usually about 2- or 3-flowered, with a small stalked leaf at the base of the 

 filiform variously lengthened pedicels. Flowers much like those of the Wood 

 Strawberry {Fragaria vesca) in size and appearance, erect. Calyx subcampanu- 

 late, the 5 interior segments broadly ovato- triangular, acute; the 5 exterior 

 (bracts ?) much smaller, ovato-lanceolate or elliptical, somewhat keeled, erect. 

 Petals pure white (sometimes reddish or flesh-coloured, Berloloni), inversely 

 heart-shaped, opposite the smaller and about as long as the larger sepals, slightly 

 emarginate. Stamens converging, not very numerous ; anthers bright yellow. 

 Styles numerous, erect, simple. Receptacle very hairy, bright orange and glan- 

 dular betwixt the styles. Carpels numerous, covered by the converging inner 

 calyx-segments. 



Often mistaken for the Wood Strawberry (Fragaria vesca), of which it has all 

 the characters except the fruit (hence the English name), but it is a true Poten- 

 tilla ! 



VIII. CoMAEUM, Linn. Marsh Cinquefoil. 



Calyx 10- (or more) cleft, segments alternately smaller. Petals 

 6 (or more), shorter than the calyx. Achenes many, minute 



* Mertens and Koch say they finally take root, and emit fresh procumbent 

 stems, like the original ones, which from their csespitose mode of terminating 

 seems highly probable. 



