Flora of North America species comparison

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Potentilla sterilis

strawberry leaf cinquefoil or barren-strawberry, strawberryleaf cinquefoil
Basal leaves

petiole 2–7(–17) cm, long hairs common to abundant, 1–2 mm;

central leaflets (0.8–)1.5–3(–5) × (0.6–)1–2(–3) cm, straight hairs common to abundant (sparser adaxially), glands absent or sparse.
Flowers

epicalyx bractlets ± lanceolate, 2.5–4 × 0.8–1.3 mm;

sepals 4–6.5 mm, apex ± acute;

petals 4–7 × 3–5 mm;

filaments 0.8–2 mm, anthers 0.6–0.9 mm;

carpels numerous.
Achenes

1.5 mm.
2n

= 28 (Europe).

Potentilla sterilis
Phenology Flowering spring.
Habitat Dry to moist, often rocky slopes
Elevation 0 m (0 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
NF; Europe [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Potentilla sterilis was collected from the coast of Newfoundland in 1928 (A. M. Ayre s.n., GH); no recent documentation of occurrence is known (J. Maunder, pers. comm. to L. Brouillet). Although previously treated as native (M. L. Fernald 1950; E. Hultén and M. Fries 1986), this status has been challenged (for example, A. Kurtto et al. in J. Jalas et al. 1972+, vol. 13). According to H. A. Gleason and A. Cronquist (1991), the species is also rarely introduced in the eastern United States; no vouchers have been seen.

Potentilla sterilis is superficially similar to strawberry (Fragaria) but lacks the fleshy fruit; other differences include stolon structure, anther morphology, and style length and attachment.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 9, p. 132.
Parent taxa Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Potentilla > sect. Lupinoides
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. 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. 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
Synonyms Fragaria sterilis
Name authority (Linnaeus) Garcke: Fl. N. Mitt.-Deutschland ed. 4, 112. (1858)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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