BRITISH WILD FL04VERS. 
139 
and four a quartan ague, and a hundred to one if it be not Dioscorides, for he is full of such whimseys. The 
truth is, I never stood so much upon the number of the leaves, nor whether I gave it in powder or decoction : if 
Jupiter were strong, and the moon applying to him or his good aspect at the gathering of it, I never knew it 
miss the desired effects.” Such were the opinions of our forefathers, and even in the present day the virtues of 
this herb are strongly believed in by many country people. It is also said to be from the medicinal properties 
of this species that the genus takes its name of Potentilla. The plant is a perennial, and it flowers from June 
till August. _ __ _ 
THE HOARY CINQUEFOIL. (P. argentea, Lin.) 
This is a tolerably common plant, though it is seldom found except in a gravelly soil. The plant is half 
shrubby ; and the flowers, which continue nearly all the summer, are very small, though they are of a bright 
yellow. The plaut takes its specific name from the silky down which covers the under side of the leaves, and 
makes them look quite silvery. 
THE SPRING CINQUEFOIL. (P. verna, Lin.) 
This species is very common in dry, hilly ground, and it is the earliest flowering of all the Potentillas, its 
blossoms appearing in April and May. It varies very much, and probably many supposed species are only 
varieties of it. Among these, P. opaca, which is sometimes, though very rarely, found on the Scotch mountains, 
is probably one. 
THE WHITE ROCK CINQUEFOIL. (P. alba, Lin.) 
This very pretty species, which is very common in gardens, is but rarely found wild in England. Its 
flowers are of a snow-white, and they continue to be produced in succession nearly all the summer. 
* * * Leaves ternate. 
5.— THE BARREN STRAWBERRY. (Potentilla Fragaria, Dec.) 
Synonymes. — P. Fragariastrum, Ehrhart; P. Fragarioides, Vil - | Specific Character. —- Leaflets 3, roundish-obovate, serrated, 
lars; Fragaria sterilis, Lin. : hairy. Stems prostrate. Fruit corrugated, hairy at the scar. 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 1785 ; 2nd ed., t. 739. ! {Smith.) 
Description, &c. —This plant so closely resembles the Strawberry, even when in flower, that it can scarcely 
be distinguished from it. When it is in fruit, however, it is easily recognised for a Potentilla by the dryness of 
the receptacle. The plant is a perennial, and it produces its white flowers in March and April. 
THE TRIFID-LEAVED CINQUEFOIL. (P. tridentata, Solander.) 
This plant is rare, having been only found by Mr. G. Don on the mountains of Angus-shire. 
§ 2 .—Petals 5, acuminate. 
6.— THE MARSH CINQUEFOIL, OR PURPLE MARSHLOCKS. (Potentilla Comarum, Scopoli „) 
Specific Character. —Leaves with close lobes. Stipules broad, 
coriaceous. Petals less than the calyx. Fruit ovate, compressed, 
smooth. (Dec.) 
Synonymes.— P. palustris, Lehm.; P. rubra, Haller; Comarum 
palustre, Lin. 
Engravings. —Eng. Bot., t. 172; 2nd ed., t. 744 ; and our fin. 
5, in PI. 33. 
Description, &c. —This species was formerly made a distinct genus; but it having been found that the 
principal distinction between it and the Potentillas consists in the shape of its petals, Professor De Candolle 
t 2 
