Ontario Weeds: Rough cinquefoil
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Excerpt from Publication 505, Ontario Weeds,
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Table of Contents
- Name
- Other Names
- Family
- General Description
- Stems and Roots
- Leaves
- Flowers and Fruit
- Habitat
- Similar Species
- Related Links
Name: Rough cinquefoil, Potentilla
norvegica L.,
Other Names: Upright cinquefoil, Yellow
cinquefoil, potentille de Norvège, potentille
Family: Rose Family (Rosaceae)
General Description: Annual, biennial
or short-lived perennial, reproducing only by seed.
Rough cinquefoil.
Stems & Roots: 20-50cm (8-20in.)
high, usually branched, sometimes with 2 or more stems from the
same root, hairy throughout.
Leaves: Alternate (1 per node), compound;
1 leaf consisting of 3 leaflets at the end of a leafstalk (petiole)
and a pair of stipules at the base of the leafstalk where it joins
the stem; each leaflet oblong to roundish with coarse, sharp, forward-pointed
teeth; leaves in a rosette early in the growing season and, at this
stage, frequently mistaken for strawberry; lower stem leaves long-stalked;
uppermost leaves stalkless with the 3 leaflets and pair of stipules
apparently attached directly to the stem.
Flowers & Fruit: Flowers about
6mm (¼in.) across, on short stalks from leafy branches in
the upper part of the plant; 5 pale yellow petals about the same
length as the green sepals, a ring of many stamens around the cluster
of many tiny pistils which mature into a cluster of seeds; each
seed about 1mm (1/25in.) long, yellowish to pale brown and ridged
lengthwise. Flowers in June and July.
Habitat: Rough cinquefoil occurs throughout
Ontario in pastures, meadows, waste areas, roadsides, and occasionally
in gardens and cultivated fields.
Similar Species: Rosettes of Rough cinquefoil
are distinguished from strawberry plants (Fragaria spp.)
by having teeth all around the margins of all 3 leaflets, whereas
with strawberry the lower ¼ to 1/3 of each leaflet is usually
without teeth. Older plants have robust, erect stems with several
leaves and yellow flowers, whereas strawberry has a slender, short,
nearly leafless stem with loose clusters of white flowers. It is
distinguished from the yellow-flowered buttercups by its 3-leaflet
leaves and the presence of a pair of stipules at the base of each
leafstalk. Rough cinquefoil is distinguished from other cinquefoils
by the combination of 3-leaflet leaves green on both surfaces, and
small (6-10mm, ¼-2/5in. across), pale yellow flowers in which
the sepals and petals are of about equal length.
Related Links
... on general Weed
topics
... on weed identification, order OMAFRA
Publication 505: Ontario Weeds
... on weed control, order OMAFRA
Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control
For more information:
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E-mail: ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca