Potentilla wheeleri |
Potentilla biflora |
|
---|---|---|
Kern cinquefoil, Wheeler's cinquefoil |
two-flower cinquefoil |
|
Stems | 0.2–2.5 dm. |
|
Basal leaves | palmate, 1.5–9.5 cm; petiole 1–7 cm, long hairs abundant to dense, spreading to appressed, 1–2 mm, weak to stiff, glands ± abundant; leaflets 5, central cuneate-elliptic to obovate, 0.5–2.5 × 0.3–1.5 cm, scarcely to distinctly petiolulate, distal 1/3 of margins evenly incised ± 1/4 to midvein, teeth 2–4(–5) per side, surfaces gray-green, long hairs abundant to dense, 1–1.5 mm, glands ± abundant, sometimes obscured. |
petiole 1–4 cm, long hairs absent or sparse, 1.5–2 mm, crisped hairs absent or sparse; leaflet lobes linear, 10–20 × 1–2 mm, surfaces with long hairs sparse or absent. |
Inflorescences | 1–20-flowered. |
|
Pedicels | 0.5–1.5 cm. |
|
Flowers | epicalyx bractlets lanceolate to ovate-elliptic, 1–3.5 × 1–1.5 mm; hypanthium 2–4 mm diam.; sepals 2–5 mm, apex ± acute; petals ± paler abaxially, bright yellow adaxially, ± obcordate, 3–6 × 2–5 mm; filaments 1–2 mm, anthers 0.5 mm; carpels ca. 20, styles (1.2–)1.5–2 mm. |
epicalyx bractlets oblong, ovate, or lanceolate, 2.5–4 × 0.4–1.3 mm; sepals 3.5–5 mm, apex acute to apiculate; petals 6–10 × 4–10 mm; filaments 2.8–4 mm, anthers 0.6 mm; carpels 15–25. |
Achenes | 1–1.5 mm, lightly rugose. |
1.5–2 mm. |
Short | hairs not well differentiated from long hairs, absent or sparse throughout. |
|
2n | = 14. |
|
Potentilla wheeleri |
Potentilla biflora |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Sep. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Sandy flats, streamsides, lake margins, open conifer woodlands, alpine fellfields | Dryas fellfields, gravel terraces, well-drained soil, often with seasonal seepage, on calcareous substrates |
Elevation | 1800–3500 m (5900–11500 ft) | 0–2000 m (0–6600 ft) |
Distribution |
CA
|
AK; BC; NT; NU; YT; Asia |
Discussion | Potentilla wheeleri is found in the southern Sierra Nevada and San Bernardino Mountains of southern California. Compact plants on the summit of Mount San Gorgonio, described by Jepson as var. paupercula, show no consistent difference to justify their taxonomic segregation. Variety viscidula Rydberg has been misapplied to Arizona populations now called P. rhyolitica. Plants identified as P. wheeleri (excluding P. rimicola) from the Sierra San Pedro Mártir (Baja California) stand as a distinct species, P. luteosericea Rydberg (= P. pinetorum Wiggins). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
In North America, Potentilla biflora is mostly Beringian, barely reaching northern British Columbia and western Northwest Territories, with one locality in Nunavut (southern Victoria Island). The amphi-Beringian range is strongly isolated from other Asian populations, the closest being in the Altai Mountains of south-central Siberia. Two varieties are accepted in China (Li C. L. et al. 2003c), with North American plants falling in var. biflora. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 185. | FNA vol. 9, p. 131. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Potentilla > sect. Subviscosae | Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Potentilla > sect. Biflorae |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. wheeleri var. paupercula | |
Name authority | S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 11: 148. (1876) | D. F. K. Schlechtendal: Ges. Naturf. Freunde Berlin Mag. Neuesten Entdeck. Gesammten Naturk. 7: 297. (1816) |
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