Ontario
Weeds: Silvery cinquefoil
Table of Contents
- Name
- Other Names
- Family
- General Description
- Stems and Roots
- Leaves
- Flowers and Fruit
- Habitat
- Similar Species
- Related Links
Name: Silvery cinquefoil, Potentilla
argentea L.,
Other Names: potentille argentée
Family: Rose Family (Rosaceae)
General Description: Perennial, reproducing
only by seed.
Photos and Pictures
Silvery cinquefoil.
Stems & Roots: 10-50cm (4-20in.)
long, 1 to several from each stout perennial crown, erect or spreading
or nearly prostrate;
Leaves: Early leaves in a dense basal
rosette; basal and stem leaves long-stalked, palmately compound with
3 or usually 5 to 7 leaflets which are dark green on the upper surface
and silvery-gray on the undersurface (leaflets arranged like fingers
from the palm of a hand) each leaflet shallowly and coarsely toothed
to very deeply lobed; each leafstalk or stalkless upper leaf with
2 slender, pointed stipules at its junction with the stem.
Flowers & Fruit: Yellow, small (6-10mm,
¼-2/5in. across), in branching clusters at ends of branches;
petals about the same length as sepals; and many stamens and pistils.
Flowers from late May until autumn.
Habitat: Silvery cinquefoil occurs throughout
Ontario, usually on coarse-textured, well-drained soils in open fields,
pastures, waste areas, roadsides, and occasionally in lawns.
Similar Species: It is distinguished by
its palmately compound leaves leaflets arranged like fingers from
the palm of a hand, with coarsely toothed or lobed leaflets which
are green on the upper surface but silvery-gray on the undersurface,
and its small yellow flowers with petals and sepals of 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
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