Potentilla wheeleri |
Potentilla sterilis |
|
---|---|---|
Kern cinquefoil, Wheeler's cinquefoil |
strawberry leaf cinquefoil or barren-strawberry, strawberryleaf 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 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. |
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 ± 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 | 1–1.5 mm, lightly rugose. |
1.5 mm. |
Short | hairs not well differentiated from long hairs, absent or sparse throughout. |
|
2n | = 28 (Europe). |
|
Potentilla wheeleri |
Potentilla sterilis |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Sep. | Flowering spring. |
Habitat | Sandy flats, streamsides, lake margins, open conifer woodlands, alpine fellfields | Dry to moist, often rocky slopes |
Elevation | 1800–3500 m (5900–11500 ft) | 0 m (0 ft) |
Distribution |
CA
|
NF; Europe [Introduced in North America] |
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.) |
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. 185. | FNA vol. 9, p. 132. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Potentilla > sect. Subviscosae | Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Potentilla > sect. Lupinoides |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. wheeleri var. paupercula | Fragaria sterilis |
Name authority | S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 11: 148. (1876) | (Linnaeus) Garcke: Fl. N. Mitt.-Deutschland ed. 4, 112. (1858) |
Web links |