Potentilla millefolia |
Potentilla brunnescens |
|
---|---|---|
cut-leaf cinquefoil, feather cinquefoil, feather or many-leaf or Klamath cinquefoil, many leaf cinquefoil |
brownish cinquefoil, slender brown cinquefoil, slender cinquefoil |
|
Habit | Plants ± rosetted; taproots fleshy-thickened. | |
Glands | conspicuous, usually golden. |
|
Stems | usually prostrate, sometimes ± decumbent, 0.4–2(–3) dm, lengths 1–2 times basal leaves. |
ascending to nearly erect, (1.5–)3–7 dm. |
Basal leaves | pinnate with distal leaflets ± confluent, 2–15(–20) × 1–3 cm; petiole 0.5–2(–3) cm, straight hairs sparse to abundant, appressed to spreading, 0.5–1.5 mm, stiff, cottony hairs absent, glands absent or sparse; primary lateral leaflets (3–)5–13 per side, on distal 2/3–3/4+ of leaf axis, separate to overlapping, largest ones cuneate to flabellate, 0.5–1.5(–2) × 0.5–2 cm, distal 2/3 to whole margin palmately or unevenly, rarely pinnately, incised 2/3 to completely to midvein, ultimate teeth or segments (1–)2–10, linear to broadly oblanceolate, 2–10 × (0.5–)1–2 mm, apical tufts to 1 mm, surfaces green to grayish green, not glaucous, straight hairs sparse to abundant, appressed to spreading, 0.5–1.5(–2) mm, stiff, cottony hairs absent, glands sparse to common. |
sometimes 2-ranked, palmate, (5–)10–30 cm; petiole (1.5–)5–25(–50) cm, long hairs sparse to abundant, appressed to spreading, 1–2 mm, ± stiff, short, crisped, and cottony hairs absent, glands ± abundant; leaflets (5–)7–9, at tip of leaf axis, separate to slightly overlapping, largest ones oblanceolate-elliptic to narrowly obovate, (2–)5–10 × 1–4 cm, margins flat to ± revolute, distal 3/4 to nearly whole length ± evenly incised (1/4–)1/2–3/4+ to midvein, undivided medial blade 2–15(–20) mm wide, teeth (5–)7–10 per side, linear to broadly lanceolate, 3–15 mm, surfaces ± similar, abaxial paler, green, not glaucous, long hairs sparse to common, short-crisped hairs absent or sparse, cottony hairs absent, glands ± abundant. |
Cauline leaves | (0–)1–2. |
1–3(–4). |
Inflorescences | 3–6(–10)-flowered, loosely cymose, sometimes racemiform. |
12–30(–70)-flowered. |
Pedicels | (0.5–)1–2(–4.5) cm, ± recurved in fruit. |
0.2–1(–4) cm. |
Flowers | epicalyx bractlets ± elliptic, 2–4(–6) × 1–2(–2.5) mm; hypanthium 3–6 mm diam.; sepals 4–6(–8) mm, apex acute; petals 4–8(–10) × 3–7(–9) mm; filaments 2–3.5 mm, anthers 0.7–1 mm; carpels 10–30, styles (1.5–)2–3 mm. |
epicalyx bractlets lanceolate to elliptic, 3–6 × 1–2 mm, hairs sparse to common, loosely appressed to spreading, glands common to abundant; hypanthium 4–6(–8) mm diam.; sepals 4–8(–9) mm, apex acute to acuminate; petals 6–9 × 6–10 mm; filaments 1–2 mm, anthers 0.6–1 mm; carpels 30–60, styles filiform-tapered, papillate-swollen proximally, 1.5–2 mm. |
Achenes | 1.5–2 mm, smooth, often ± carunculate. |
1.5 mm. |
Potentilla millefolia |
Potentilla brunnescens |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring–summer. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Vernally to permanently wet meadows, moist openings in conifer forests and sagebrush, alkaline flats | Vernally moist rocky flats, sagebrush benchlands and slopes, usually basaltic |
Elevation | 700–2200 m (2300–7200 ft) | 400–3100 m (1300–10200 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; NV; OR
|
AK; CO; ID; MT; OR; UT; WA; WY |
Discussion | Potentilla millefolia occurs from central Oregon to the east side of the Sierra Nevada of California, with a disjunct occurrence on the alkaline flats of Reese River Valley, Nevada. Significant variation occurs in vestiture type, leaflet dissection, and flower size, but with minimal geographic correlation. The most distinctive variant, represented by the type of P. klamathensis, has relatively long, slender, spreading, pustule-based hairs, often intermixed with shorter hairs. This vestiture type does not appear to be correlated with any other characters or geographic distribution and may vary within a population. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The conspicuous golden glands, dark green color, and relatively broad leaflets make Potentilla brunnescens one of the better-defined species of sect. Graciles, though it has often been treated as a variety of P. gracilis. The glands, which are often on septate stalks, are particularly conspicuous on the epicalyx bractlets, hypanthium, and sepals, and at the junction of petiole and leaflets. The species occurs from the Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington to western Montana, northern Utah, and north-central Colorado; collections from Alaska are probably not native. As presented here, Potentilla brunnescens encompasses two morphological extremes that might merit varietal status. Leaflets of the more common and widespread extreme are incised about halfway to the midvein; in contrast, some populations in western Wyoming and adjacent Idaho have leaflets incised 3/4 or more to the midvein. The latter have often been assigned to P. gracilis var. elmeri while reserving P. gracilis var. brunnescens for the former; this is untenable because the type of P. brunnescens is the latter form. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 174. | FNA vol. 9, p. 157. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Potentilla > sect. Multijugae | Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Potentilla > sect. Graciles |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. klamathensis, P. millefolia var. klamathensis, P. plattensis var. klamathensis, P. plattensis var. millefolia | P. gracilis var. brunnescens |
Name authority | Rydberg: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 23: 433, plate 277, figs. 1–5. (1896) | Rydberg: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 28: 173. (1901) |
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