Potentilla ovina |
Potentilla biennis |
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sheep cinquefoil |
biennial cinquefoil, biennial or Greene's cinquefoil, Greene's cinquefoil |
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Habit | Plants rosetted to ± matted; taproots sometimes ± fleshy-thickened. | |||||
Stems | prostrate to ascending, (0.3–)0.8–2(–3.5) dm, lengths (1–)1.5–3 times basal leaves. |
ascending to erect, (1–)2–6(–8.5) dm, hairs at base not stiff, not tubercle-based, glands sparse to abundant, conspicuous (to 1 mm, septate). |
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Leaves | ternate, (2–)4–12(–25) cm; petiole (1–)2–8(–20) cm, long hairs sparse to common, spreading to ascending, 0.5–1.5(–3) mm, weak, crisped hairs usually absent, glands sparse to abundant, conspicuous (to 1 mm, septate); leaflets 3, at tip of leaf axis, usually overlapping, largest ones mostly obovate or oval to nearly round, (0.5–)1–3(–4) × 0.3–3(–3.5) cm, distal 3/4 to ± whole margin evenly to unevenly incised 1/4–1/3(–1/2) to midvein, teeth 3–8(–13) per side, surfaces sparsely to moderately hairy, rarely glabrate, glands sparse to abundant at least abaxially. |
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Basal leaves | pinnate with distal leaflets ± distinct, (1.5–)2–10(–13) × 0.7–3.5(–5) cm; petiole 0.5–3.5(–5) cm, straight hairs sparse to abundant, sometimes absent (var. decurrens), ± appressed to ascending, 1 mm, ± stiff, cottony hairs absent, glands sparse, often obscured; primary lateral leaflets 3–6 per side (often with additional interspersed leaflets), on distal 1/2–2/3(–3/4) of leaf axis, ± separate to ± overlapping, largest ones narrowly cuneate-oblanceolate to ± obovate, (0.3–)0.5–2(–3.5) × (0.2–)0.3–0.8(–1) cm, distal 1/4 to whole margin unevenly to pinnately (at least distal leaflets of var. ovina) incised 1/2–3/4+ to midvein, ultimate teeth 2–9(–11), linear or oblong to ovate, 1–7(–9) × 1–2 mm, apical tufts 0.5–2 mm, surfaces green to grayish, not glaucous, straight hairs sparse to abundant (sparser adaxially), sometimes absent (except on margins), loosely appressed, 0.5–2 mm, ± stiff, cottony hairs absent, crisped hairs sometimes sparse to common, glands absent or inconspicuous. |
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Cauline leaves | 1–2. |
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Inflorescences | (1–)2–11(–20)-flowered, usually openly cymose. |
(10–)20–70+-flowered. |
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Pedicels | (0.8–)1–2(–4) cm, straight to ± recurved in fruit. |
0.2–1(–2) cm. |
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Flowers | epicalyx bractlets linear-lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, sometimes doubled, 2–3.5(–5) × 1 mm; hypanthium 3–5 mm diam.; sepals 3.5–5.5(–7) mm, apex acute to obtuse; petals 4–7(–8) × 3.5–8 mm; filaments 1–2.5 mm, anthers 0.4–1 mm usually ± 1/2 as long as filaments; carpels 10–20, styles 2–3 mm. |
epicalyx bractlets narrowly oblanceolate to narrowly obovate or elliptic, (1.5–)2–3.5(–4.5) × 0.5–1.5(–2) mm; hypanthium (2–)3–4(–5.5) mm diam.; sepals (2–)3–5 mm, apex broadly acute to obtuse; petals pale yellow to yellow, broadly oblanceolate to obovate, (1–)2–2.7 × 1.5 mm; stamens 10 or 15, filaments 0.5–1.2 mm, anthers 0.2–0.3 mm; carpels 40–100, styles 0.5–0.7 mm. |
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Achenes | 1.5–2 mm, smooth, not carunculate. |
whitish or pale yellowish, 0.5–0.9 mm, smooth, without a corky protuberance. |
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Potentilla ovina |
Potentilla biennis |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | |||||
Habitat | Moist meadows, stream banks, ditches, seepages | |||||
Elevation | 400–3100 m (1300–10200 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WY; AB; BC
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AK; AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; ND; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; SK; YT
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Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). Potentilla ovina is here accepted as an implicit new name by J. M. Macoun for P. diversifolia var. pinnatisecta, in agreement with N. H. Holmgren (1997b). In contrast, B. C. Johnston (1980) considered the names heterotypic. Potentilla ovina has priority at the species rank over P. pinnatisecta by one month. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Potentilla biennis may be recognized by its septate hairs with a round, terminal gland, which dominate the vestiture especially at the base of the plant. Stems are more commonly erect and leaflets rounder than those of P. rivalis. The species is most common along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada of California, across the Intermountain Region to the Rocky Mountains. All specimens seen by the authors from Baja California, Mexico, which were previously referred to P. biennis are now assigned to P. rivalis. J. Soják (1996) lectotypified Potentilla millegrana Engelmann ex Lehmann upon a collection of P. rivalis, thus preventing P. biennis from being a later taxonomic synonym. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 171. | FNA vol. 9, p. 140. | ||||
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Potentilla > sect. Multijugae | Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Potentilla > sect. Rivales | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | P. diversifolia var. pinnatisecta, P. pinnatisecta, P. plattensis var. pinnatisecta | |||||
Name authority | J. M. Macoun: Canad. Rec. Sci. 6: 464. (1896) | Greene: Fl. Francisc., 65. (1891) | ||||
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