Colorado Cinquefoil (Potentilla subjuga)
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| Scientific Name | Potentilla effusa (Potentilla hippiana var. effusa) | USDA PLANTS Symbol | POEF |
| Common Name | Branched Cinquefoil | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. | 24706 |
| Family | Rosaceae (Rose) | SEINet Reference |
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| Description |
Life zones and habitat: Foothills to subalpine (6000 to 11500); sunny open areas, meadows, hillsides and gravelly slopes.
Plant: Perennial in low clumps, up to 20 inches tall and several feet wide; much-branched with slender, whitish, hairy, leaning or tangled stems. Leaves: Mostly basal and crowded, 2 to 6 inches long overall, pinnately-divided into 5 to 13 leaflets, oblanceolate, 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches long; margins are toothed at least on the upper part; both surfaces are similarly covered with woolly hairs. See photos below. Inflorescence: Branching cyme with ascending branches of a few to several yellow flowers, each with 5 petals, sometimes with shallowly-notched tips, each about 1/4-inch long, about the same length as sepals; sepals are pointed an have hairy edges. Bloom Period: June to August. References: "Flora of Colorado" by Jennifer Ackerfield, Flora of North America, SEINet and American Southwest. |
BONAP Distribution Map |
Colorado Status: Native |
| Scientific Name | Potentilla hippiana (Potentilla hippiana var. hippiana) | USDA PLANTS Symbol | POHI6 |
| Common Name | Woolly Cinquefoil | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. | 24718 |
| Family | Rosaceae (Rose) | SEINet Reference |
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| Description |
Life zones and habitat: Foothills to subalpine (6000 to 11500); widely distributed in sunny open areas, meadows, hillsides and gravelly slopes.
Plant: Perennial up to 20 inches tall; slender, whitish, hairy, erect but leaning stems. Leaves: Mostly basal and crowded, 2 to 6 inches long overall, pinnately-divided into 5 to 13 leaflets, oblanceolate, 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches long, toothed edges; leaflet surfaces distinctly two-colored, silvery and hairy on top, woolly beneath. Inflorescence: Branching cyme with ascending branches of a few to several yellow flowers, each with 5 petals, sometimes with shallowly-notched tips, each about 1/4-inch long, slightly longer than the hairy, gray-ish sepals beneath. Bloom Period: June to August. References: "Flora of Colorado" by Jennifer Ackerfield, Flora of North America, SEINet and US Forest Service, Guide to the Common Potentilla Species of the Blue Mountains Ecoregion |
BONAP Distribution Map |
Colorado Status: Native |
| Scientific Name | Potentilla pensylvanica | USDA PLANTS Symbol | POPE8 |
| Common Name | Prairie Cinquefoil | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. | 24736 |
| Family | Rosaceae (Rose) | SEINet Reference |
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| Description |
Life zones and habitat: Foothills to alpine (5300 to 13000 ft.); dry areas in fields, prairies, meadows. Plant: Perennial 2 to 14 inches tall; a few or more erect or sometimes decumbent, grayish-green stems. Leaves: Basal leaves up to 8 inches long, pinnately-compound; upper surface usually greenish, lower surface nearly white; 5-9 (sometimes 11) oblanceolate, leaflets, 1/2 to 1-1/4 inches long, the lower ones smaller and the upper 3 larger; leaflets cleft to about halfway with about 10 lobes. A few stem leaves. Inflorescence: Numerous yellow 5-petaled flowers in branched, open cyme, each blossom surrounded by leaf-like green sepals. Bloom Period: June to August. References: "Flora of Colorado" by Jennifer Ackerfield, SEINet and US Forest Service, Guide to the Common Potentilla Species of the Blue Mountains Ecoregion |
BONAP Distribution Map |
Colorado Status: Native |
| Scientific Name | Potentilla pulcherrima | USDA PLANTS Symbol | POPU9 |
| Common Name | Beautiful Cinquefoil | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. | 504586 |
| Family | Rosaceae (Rose) | SEINet Reference |
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| Description |
Life zones and habitat: Montane to alpine (7000 to 13000 ft.); moist areas in meadows, creeksides and on hillsides. Plant: Perennial 12 to 30 inches tall; erect stems. Leaves: Basal, compound leaves on petioles 3/8 to 8 inches long; 5 to 9 digitate leaflets, lanceolate to oblong 3/4 to 3 inches long, shallow-toothed (less than half-way to mid-rib) margins; upper green surfaces smooth to slightly hairy, dense white hairs below. See photo below. Inflorescence: Open clusters of many yellow 5-petaled flowers; hairy pointed sepals just below. Bloom Period: June to August. References: "Flora of Colorado" by Jennifer Ackerfield and US Forest Service, Guide to the Common Potentilla Species of the Blue Mountains Ecoregion |
BONAP Distribution Map |
Colorado Status: Native |
| Scientific Name | Potentilla rubricaulis | USDA PLANTS Symbol | PORU3 |
| Common Name | Red-stemmed Cinquefoil, Rocky Mountain Cinquefoil | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. | 504589 |
| Family | Rosaceae (Rose) | Southwest Colorado Wildflowers Ref. | Click Here |
| Description |
Life zones and habitat: Alpine; tundra, open, rocky areas.
Plant: Low-growing perennial with reddish, reclining stems less than 16 inches long; hairy foliage (stems, bractlets and leaves). Leaves: Basal, compound leaves, 3 (ternate) or 5 (digitate) leaflets; toothed edges; upper surfaces deep green and somewhat hairy, greyish and woolly beneath; stem leaves fewer and smaller. Inflorescence: Solitary or cymes of a few small, yellow 5-petaled, saucer-shaped flowers; petals narrow at the base, broad and slightly notched at the tip, orange tinge at the base; 5 green pointed sepals, each about 2/3 as long as the petals; numerous stamens and pistils; small, linear bractlets along pedicels below. Bloom Period: June to August. References: "Alpine Flora of the Rocky Mountains" by Richard Scott, www.americansouthwest.net and SW Colorado Wildflowers. |
BONAP Distribution Map |
Colorado Status: Native |
| Scientific Name | Potentilla subjuga | USDA PLANTS Symbol | POSU5 |
| Common Name | Colorado Cinquefoil | ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. | 504590 |
| Family | Rosaceae (Rose) | Flora of North America Ref. | Click Here |
| Description |
Life zones and habitat: Montane to alpine (9500 to 13500 ft.); dry areas, gravelly slopes and meadows.
Plant: Tufted perennial 4 to 12 inches tall, one to several stems. Leaves: Pinnately-compound leaves with the top 5 leaflets digitate and another opposite pair below separated by a length of leaf, and often a much smaller pair still further down the stem; leaflet surfaces green or grayish-green and slightly hairy, underside white-woolly. See photo below. Inflorescence: Saucer-shaped yellow flowers 3/8 to 5/8-inch across, with 5 overlapping petals and hairy sepals; numerous stamens and pistils; very short bractlets below. Bloom Period: June to August. References: "Flora of Colorado" by Jennifer Ackerfield, "Alpine Flora of the Rocky Mountains" by Richard Scott and Flora of North America. |
BONAP Distribution Map |
Colorado Status: Native |
