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bipinnate cinquefoil, potentille bipinnatifide, tansy cinquefoil

Habit Plants densely tufted.
Caudex branches

stout, sometimes ± columnar, not sheathed with marcescent whole leaves.

Stems

ascending to erect, (1–)2–5 dm.

ascending to erect, (0.2–)0.4–1.6(–2) dm, lengths 2–3 times basal leaves.

Basal leaves

subpinnate to subpalmate, (6–)10–25 cm;

petiole (2–)5–15 cm, long hairs dense, appressed, 1–2 mm, soft to ± stiff, short hairs absent, crisped hairs sparse, glands absent, sparse, or obscured;

leaflets 2–3 per side, on distal 1/6–1/3(–1/2) of leaf axis, separate to ± overlapping, terminal ones oblanceolate, (2–)3–6(–10) × 1–2(–3.5) cm, margins revolute, incised 3/4+ to midvein, undivided medial blade 1.5–6 mm wide, teeth 5–8 per side, ± linear, surfaces ± to strongly dissimilar, abaxial usually white, rarely grayish, long hairs abundant especially on veins, 1–2 mm, ± weak, short hairs absent or obscured, cottony (and crisped) hairs ± dense, glands absent or obscured, adaxial green to grayish, long hairs sparse to abundant, loosely appressed, 0.5–1.5 mm, short hairs absent or sparse, crisped and/or cottony hairs sparse to common, glands sparse to common.

1–6(–11) cm;

petiole 0.5–4(–9) cm, long hairs ± abundant, ascending to spreading, sometimes loosely appressed, 1–2.5 mm, soft to weak, smooth, crisped(/cottony) hairs absent or sparse, sometimes common, glands absent or sparse;

leaflets overlapping, central broadly obovate, 0.8–2(–2.5) × 0.8–1.5(–2.5) cm, sessile or subsessile, base broadly cuneate, margins strongly revolute, distal 1/2–2/3 incised ± 1/2 to midvein, teeth 2–3(–4) per side, distant, surfaces strongly dissimilar, abaxial grayish white, long hairs 1–2 mm, cottony-crisped hairs ± dense, adaxial usually dark green, sometimes grayish green, long hairs sparse to abundant, other hairs usually absent.

Cauline leaves

2–4.

(0–)1–2(–3).

Inflorescences

(4–)10–50(–100)-flowered, congested or elongating in fruit.

1–2(–5)-flowered.

Pedicels

0.2–0.8 cm (proximal to 2 cm).

1–2 cm in flower, to 5 cm in fruit.

Flowers

epicalyx bractlets narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, 2.5–6 mm, lengths ± 2/3 times sepals, margins flat;

hypanthium 3–5 mm diam.;

sepals 3–6 mm, apex ± acute, abaxial surfaces: venation indistinct, glands absent, sparse, or obscured;

petals yellow, 3–5 × 3–4 mm, lengths ± equal to sepals;

filaments 0.5–2 mm, anthers 0.3–0.5 mm;

carpels 50–80, styles papillate-swollen in proximal 1/2–3/4+, 1–1.2 mm.

epicalyx bractlets ± oblong to ovate, 4–8(–10) × 1.8–3(–5) mm, 2/3 to as wide as sepals, margins revolute, sometimes flat, red glands absent;

hypanthium 3.5–4.5 mm diam.;

sepals 5–8 mm, apex ± acute;

petals 7–9 × 7–10 mm, longer than sepals;

filaments 0.8–1 mm, anthers 0.6–0.7 mm;

carpels 20–30, apical hairs sparse to abundant (straight), styles conic-columnar, ± papillate-swollen in less than proximal 1/5, or sometimes to 1/5, 0.8–1.1 mm.

Achenes

1–1.2 mm, smooth to faintly rugose.

0.9–1.2 mm.

2n

= 56.

= 28 (Russian Far East).

Potentilla bipinnatifida

Potentilla vulcanicola

Phenology Flowering summer. Flowering late spring to summer.
Habitat Open shortgrass prairie, alkaline bottoms, streamsides in sagebrush, disturbed sites Dry alpine heaths, ridge crests, rock outcrops, herb slopes, scree and talus, stabilized sand dunes, mainly on calcareous bedrock
Elevation 10–3400 m (0–11200 ft) 0–3100 m (0–10200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CO; ID; MI; MN; MT; ND; NE; NM; SD; UT; WY; AB; MB; NT; ON; QC; SK; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; NT; NU; YT; e Asia (Russian Far East)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Potentilla bipinnatifida is similar to P. litoralis in habit and leaf dissection but has flat, silky epicalyx bractlets and sepals with no evident glands. Vestiture is generally silkier, and the silvery to bicolor leaves are white-cottony abaxially. The two species are sympatric in the plains of Canada, with some intergradation; P. bipinnatifida is also common south to Colorado, where it is found in intermontane meadows and sagebrush flats. Outlying populations occur in Blaine and Custer counties, Idaho, and Duchesne and Piute counties, Utah. Eastern collections from disturbed sites might be adventive.

Potentilla missourica Hornemann ex Lindley and P. normalis Besser ex Sprengel are older names for this species; both were rejected against a conserved P. bipinnatifida with designated lectotypes (see J. Soják 2008b).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Potentilla vulcanicola is close morphologically to P. uniflora in the narrow sense and largely replaces it in southern and eastern Chukotka, Alaska, and northwestern Canada, where it reaches east of Mackenzie River on the coastal mainland and the westernmost islands (Banks and Victoria islands). Potentilla subgorodkovii and P. vulcanicola account for a major part of North American records of P. uniflora.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 9, p. 217. FNA vol. 9, p. 203.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Potentilla > sect. Pensylvanicae Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Potentilla > sect. Niveae
Sibling taxa
P. albiflora, P. ambigens, P. anachoretica, P. angelliae, P. anglica, P. anserina, P. arenosa, P. argentea, P. arizonica, P. basaltica, P. bicrenata, P. biennis, P. biflora, P. bimundorum, P. brevifolia, P. breweri, P. bruceae, P. brunnescens, P. canadensis, P. concinna, P. cottamii, P. crantzii, P. crebridens, P. crinita, P. cristae, P. demotica, P. drummondii, P. effusa, P. elegans, P. erecta, P. flabellifolia, P. fragiformis, P. furcata, P. glaucophylla, P. gracilis, P. grayi, P. hickmanii, P. hippiana, P. holmgrenii, P. hookeriana, P. hyparctica, P. inclinata, P. intermedia, P. jepsonii, P. johnstonii, P. lasiodonta, P. litoralis, P. macounii, P. millefolia, P. modesta, P. morefieldii, P. multijuga, P. multisecta, P. nana, P. newberryi, P. nivea, P. norvegica, P. ovina, P. paucijuga, P. pedersenii, P. pensylvanica, P. plattensis, P. pseudosericea, P. pulchella, P. pulcherrima, P. recta, P. reptans, P. rhyolitica, P. rimicola, P. rivalis, P. robbinsiana, P. rubella, P. rubricaulis, P. sanguinea, P. saximontana, P. sierrae-blancae, P. simplex, P. sterilis, P. stipularis, P. subgorodkovii, P. subjuga, P. subvahliana, P. subviscosa, P. supina, P. thurberi, P. thuringiaca, P. tikhomirovii, P. townsendii, P. uliginosa, P. uschakovii, P. vahliana, P. verna, P. versicolor, P. villosa, P. villosula, P. vulcanicola, P. wheeleri
P. albiflora, P. ambigens, P. anachoretica, P. angelliae, P. anglica, P. anserina, P. arenosa, P. argentea, P. arizonica, P. basaltica, P. bicrenata, P. biennis, P. biflora, P. bimundorum, P. bipinnatifida, P. brevifolia, P. breweri, P. bruceae, P. brunnescens, P. canadensis, P. concinna, P. cottamii, P. crantzii, P. crebridens, P. crinita, P. cristae, P. demotica, P. drummondii, P. effusa, P. elegans, P. erecta, P. flabellifolia, P. fragiformis, P. furcata, P. glaucophylla, P. gracilis, P. grayi, P. hickmanii, P. hippiana, P. holmgrenii, P. hookeriana, P. hyparctica, P. inclinata, P. intermedia, P. jepsonii, P. johnstonii, P. lasiodonta, P. litoralis, P. macounii, P. millefolia, P. modesta, P. morefieldii, P. multijuga, P. multisecta, P. nana, P. newberryi, P. nivea, P. norvegica, P. ovina, P. paucijuga, P. pedersenii, P. pensylvanica, P. plattensis, P. pseudosericea, P. pulchella, P. pulcherrima, P. recta, P. reptans, P. rhyolitica, P. rimicola, P. rivalis, P. robbinsiana, P. rubella, P. rubricaulis, P. sanguinea, P. saximontana, P. sierrae-blancae, P. simplex, P. sterilis, P. stipularis, P. subgorodkovii, P. subjuga, P. subvahliana, P. subviscosa, P. supina, P. thurberi, P. thuringiaca, P. tikhomirovii, P. townsendii, P. uliginosa, P. uschakovii, P. vahliana, P. verna, P. versicolor, P. villosa, P. villosula, P. wheeleri
Synonyms P. pensylvanica var. bipinnatifida
Name authority Douglas: in W. J. Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 188. (1832) Juzepczuk: Bot. Mater. Gerb. Bot. Inst. Komarova Akad. Nauk SSSR 17: 222. (1955)
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