86 WILD FLOWERS OF THE BRITISH ISLES 
small, dry, i -seeded fruits, which decay to free the seeds (indehiscent). Stem 6-18 inches long, 
creeping, rooting at the nodes ; leaves stalked, divided to the base into 5 oblong, toothed (serrate) 
leaflets; the stipules egg-shaped and entire. \Plate 41. 
Common. Waysides, pastures, meadows. June — September. Perennial. 
Silver- weed. (Potentilla Anserina, Linn.) — Flowers f-i inch across, solitary, on long 
stalks (peduncles), bright yellow. Sepals 5 ; bracts 5, narrower than the sepals ; petals 5 ; stamens 
numerous ; carpels numerous. Fruit a head of achenes, small, dry, i-seeded fruits, which decay to 
free the seeds (indehiscent). Stem 6-12 inches long, prostrate, rooting at the nodes; leaves 
all stalked, divided to the midrib into 6-10 pairs of oblong, toothed leaflets with one terminal one 
(imparipinnate), all covered with soft, silky hairs, silvery-white underneath ; the stipules egg-shaped 
(ovate), sometimes cut. \Plate 41. 
Common. Waysides, meadows, fields, hill-sides. June — August. Perennial. 
Strawberry-leaved Cinquefoil. (Potentilla rupestris, Linn.) — Flowers large, few, 
white, in terminal clusters (cymes). Sepals 5 ; bracts 5 ; petals 5, entire ; stamens numerous ; 
carpels numerous. Fruit a head of achenes. Stems 1-2 feet high ; the leaves of the root (radical) 
on long stalks, divided to the midrib into 2-3 pairs of egg-shaped (ovate), toothed (serrate) leaflets 
and 1 terminal one (imparipinnate) ; of the stem, stalkless or nearly so, only divided into 3 leaflets 
(pinnately trifoliate) ; the stipules very large, egg-shaped (ovate), and often toothed. 
Very rare. Limestone rocks in two places in Wales. May — June. Perennial. 
Hoary Cinquefoil. (Potentilla argrentea, Linn.) — Flowers \ inch across, yellow, 
stalked, in terminal clusters (corymbose cymes). Sepals 5 ; bracts 5, narrower than the sepals ; 
petals 5, nearly entire ; stamens numerous ; carpels numerous. Fruit a head of achenes, small, 
dry, i-seeded fruits, which decay to free the seeds (indehiscent). Stem 6-18 inches high, erect, 
branched, covered with close white down ; the lower leaves stalked, divided to the base into 5 
narrow, wedge-shaped, lobed leaflets (palmate) ; the upper leaves stalkless (sessile), divided to the 
base into 3 lobed leaflets (palmately trifoliate) ; all white underneath with close white down ; 
the stipules long and entire. 
Not common. Dry gravelly or sandy places. June — July. Perennial. 
Shrubby Cinquefoil. (Potentilla fructicosa, Linn.) — Flowers large, yellow, stalked, 
several in terminal clusters. Sepals 5 ; bracts 5, narrower than the sepals ; petals 5, entire ; 
stamens numerous; carpels numerous. Fruit a head of hairy achenes, small, dry, 1 -seeded 
fruits, which decay to free the seeds (indehiscent). A shrub 1-4 feet high, much branched; 
the leaves stalked and divided to the midrib into 2, rarely 3, pairs of entire, narrow leaflets, 
with 1 terminal one (imparipinnate) ; the stipules long and entire. 
Very rare. Only found in a few mountain districts in the north of England and west of Ireland. 
June — July. Perennial. 
Marsh Cinquefoil. (Potentilla palustris, Scop.) — Flowers i-i| inches across, crimson 
to purple and brown, stalked, in terminal clusters (cymes). Sepals 5, large, broad, pointed at the 
tip, crimson to purple inside, greenish outside (petaloid) ; bracts 5, strap-shaped, purplish inside ; 
petals 5, very much smaller than the petaloid sepals, crimson ; stamens numerous, with crimson 
filaments ; carpels numerous. Fruit of numerous achenes, small, dry, i-seeded fruits which decay 
to free the seeds (indehiscent), situated on the outer surface of a spongy, cone-shaped mass. Stems 
1-2 feet high, smooth, red ; the leaves divided to the midrib into 2-3 pairs of oblong, toothed 
leaflets and 1 terminal one (imparipinnate), white underneath ; the stipules large, egg-shaped 
(ovate), pointed, often toothed. [ Plate 41. 
Not uncommon. Marshes and bogs. May — July. Perennial. 
