Potentilla wheeleri |
Potentilla verna |
|
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Kern cinquefoil, Wheeler's cinquefoil |
spring cinquefoil |
|
Habit | Plants openly matted; caudex branches elongate, slender, sometimes rooting at nodes. | |
Stems | 0.2–2.5 dm. |
prostrate to decumbent, rarely weakly erect, 0.3–1.5 dm, lengths 1–2(–3) times basal leaves. |
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. |
not in ranks, palmate, 2–5(–10) cm; stipules: apex acuminate to acute, rarely obtuse; petiole 1–6 cm, long hairs common, ascending to appressed, 1–2.5 mm, weak to ± stiff, glands absent or sparse; leaflets 5–7, central oblanceolate to obovate, (0.8–)1–3 × 0.4–1.5 cm, petiolule 0–2 mm, margins flat, not lobed, distal 1/4–1/2(–2/3) evenly incised ± 1/3 to midvein, teeth 2–4(–5) per side, surfaces similar, green, hairs absent especially adaxially or sparse, 0.5–1.5(–2) mm, glands absent or sparse. |
Inflorescences | 1–20-flowered. |
3–5(–6)-flowered. |
Pedicels | 0.5–1.5 cm. |
often recurved, 1–3(–4) cm, not much longer in fruit than in flower. |
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, 3.5–5 × 1–1.5 mm, margins flat; hypanthium 2–4 mm diam.; sepals 3–5 mm, apex broadly acute to obtuse; petals yellow, 5–8(–10) × 4–6 mm; filaments 0.8–2 mm, anthers 0.5–0.8 mm; carpels 40–60, styles ± columnar, not papillate-swollen proximally, 1 mm. |
Achenes | 1–1.5 mm, lightly rugose. |
1.5–2 mm. |
Short | hairs not well differentiated from long hairs, absent or sparse throughout. |
|
2n | = 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70, 84 (Europe). |
|
Potentilla wheeleri |
Potentilla verna |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Sep. | Flowering spring–early summer. |
Habitat | Sandy flats, streamsides, lake margins, open conifer woodlands, alpine fellfields | Dry roadsides and lawns |
Elevation | 1800–3500 m (5900–11500 ft) | 0–200 m (0–700 ft) |
Distribution |
CA
|
CT; MI; MN; ON; 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.) |
The use of the name Potentilla verna here reflects the successful proposal by J. Soják (2009) to conserve P. verna with a conserved type. Alternatives in recent use include P. neumanniana Reichenbach (misapplied) and P. tabernaemontani. The species has an established horticultural presence, primarily as a ground cover, and is to be expected in North America beyond where reported here. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 185. | FNA vol. 9, p. 190. |
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Potentilla > sect. Subviscosae | Rosaceae > subfam. Rosoideae > tribe Potentilleae > Potentilla > sect. Aureae |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. wheeleri var. paupercula | P. tabernaemontani |
Name authority | S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 11: 148. (1876) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 498. (1753) |
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