Potentilla subjuga
Potentilla demotica
Colorado cinquefoil
Hualapai cinquefoil
(0.8–)1–2.5(–3.5) dm.
0.2–1.5(–2) dm.
usually palmate with additional lateral leaflets, sometimes pinnate, 3–10(–14) cm;
petiole 1.5–5 cm, vestiture seasonally dimorphic, long hairs abundant, spreading on first-formed leaves, tightly appressed to ascending on later-formed leaves, 1–2 mm, ± stiff (especially on later-formed leaves), cottony and crisped hairs usually absent, glands absent or sparse;
leaflets (3–)5 at tip of leaf axis plus 1(–2) additional pair(s) separated from tip by 3–20 mm, on distal 1/10–1/3(–1/2) of leaf axis, largest leaflets oblanceolate-oblong, (0.5–)1.5–2.5(–3) × 0.3–1 cm, ± whole margin incised 1/2–2/3(–3/4) to midvein, teeth (2–)4–9 per side, usually touching to strongly overlapping, sometimes separate, 2–6 mm, surfaces usually strongly dissimilar (less so on first-formed leaves), abaxial usually white, straight hairs ± abundant (mostly on veins), 1–2 mm, cottony or crisped/cottony hairs ± dense (sparser on first-formed leaves), glands absent or obscured, adaxial green (to grayish), straight hairs sparse to common, 0.5–1.5 mm, cottony and crisped hairs absent, glands sparse.
usually palmate, sometimes ternate, 2–8 cm;
petiole 1–7 cm, long hairs common, spreading to ascending, 1.5–2.5 mm, weak to ± stiff, glands abundant;
leaflets (3–)5, central oblanceolate, 0.5–1.5(–2) × 0.4–0.8 cm, scarcely petiolulate, distal ± 3/4 of margins ± evenly incised 1/2–3/4 to midvein, teeth 2–3(–4) per side, surfaces green, long hairs sparse to common, 0.5–1.5 mm, glands abundant.
1–3.
3–20(–30)-flowered.
1–7-flowered.
0.5–2 cm (proximal to 3 cm).
0.5–1(–2) cm.
epicalyx bractlets narrowly to broadly lanceolate, 2–5(–6) × 1–1.5 mm;
sepals 4–7 mm, apex acute to acuminate;
petals 4–8 × 4–8 mm;
filaments (0.5–)1–2 mm, anthers 0.3–0.8 mm;
carpels 15–30, styles filiform to filiform-tapered, ± papillate-swollen in less than proximal 1/5, 1.5–2 mm.
epicalyx bractlets ovate-elliptic, 1–2.5 × 1–1.5 mm;
hypanthium 2–3 mm diam.;
sepals 2.5–4 mm, apex obtuse;
petals ± paler abaxially, bright yellow adaxially, ± obcordate, 3–7 × 2.5–4 mm;
filaments 1.3–2 mm, anthers 0.5 mm;
carpels 5–12, styles 2–2.5 mm.
1.2–1.6 mm.
1.5–1.8 mm, smooth to lightly rugose.
hairs not well differentiated from long hairs, absent or sparse throughout.
Potentilla subjuga
Potentilla demotica
Potentilla subjuga is centered in the high mountains of Colorado and barely enters New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Collections from Alberta also apparently belong to this species, but all known collections from Wyoming have been identified as different taxa, at least one currently undescribed. At its most distinctive, P. subjuga is easily recognized by its unique leaf division, with five palmate leaflets subtended by an additional pair (or two) of lateral leaflets. Southern populations, however, are more likely to have only three apical leaflets. The leaflets tend to be strongly bicolored with overlapping teeth, in contrast to most sympatric pinnate species. Petiole vestiture is also distinctive in being seasonally dimorphic, with long hairs on first-formed leaves spreading to ascending and those on later formed leaves tightly appressed, as well as more conspicuously verrucose. Unresolved infraspecific variation exists, and field observations suggest that P. subjuga readily hybridizes with sympatric species, creating a swarm of intermediate specimens.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Of conservation concern.
Potentilla demotica is known from a single granitic knoll in the Hualapai Mountains, Mohave County. The species was reported as a western range extension of P. subviscosa by M. Butterwick et al. (1991); it differs in rock-dwelling habit, petal color, and epicalyx, among other characters.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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