Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Colorado Cinquefoil
Potentilla subjuga
Rose family (Rosaceae)

Potentilla subjuga grows stems to 16" but often reclines upon the ground and, therefore, appears to be much shorter. Numerous stems come from tufts. Potentillas are difficult to key to the species and hybridization accounts for some of that difficulty. P. subjuga shares many characteristics (including its preferred high altitude habitat) with Redstem Potentilla (Potentilla rubricaulis). It also shares characteristics with (P. diversifolia) with a key distinguishing characteristic being the depth of the on each : P. subjuga has cut 2/3 or more to the mid-rib of the leaf and the are usually present more than half way down the side of each ; P. diversifolia has more shallow cuts and the are usually just near the top of each .


©2019 Jennifer Ackerfield

Description

plants from (woody base of an otherwise plant). Stems from 4 to 16" tall, tufted, more or less hairy, many, cut into 5 and an additional smaller pair. to 1 1/2" long, or to , deeply , sparingly hairy above, denser below. Stem leaves reduced in threes. Petals longer than the , yellow. an , .

Field Marks

Sprawling long slightly hairy stems with hairy leaves notched at least 2/3 of the way to the , lemon yellow flowers.

© Al Schneider

silky -- Covered with fine soft hairs, with a lustrous sheen. Satiny to the touch.

oblanceolate -- top wider than bottom

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.

midrib -- The central and most prominent vein of a leaf or leaf-like thing.

achene -- a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. For example, a rose hip holds a few achenes.

A herb is a plant whose stems die back to the ground in the winter.

palmate -- Consisting of leaflets or lobes radiating from the base of the leaf.

caespitose -- Grass (or plants) growing in small dense clumps or tufts.

obovate -- Teardrop-shaped, stem attaches to tapering point.

Like the teeth on a saw, leaves and other surfaces can have toothed edges.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom.

basal leaves -- a leaf that grows lowest on the stem of a plant.

Cut deeply and (usually) unevenly (a condition intermediate between toothed and lobed).

caudex -- The woody stem base of some herbaceous perennials.

glabrous -- smooth, glossy, having no bristles or hair-like structures. Bald.

leaflets -- Each little leaf-like thing in a compound leaf is a leaflet.

oblong -- Having an elongated form with somewhat parallel sides. Rectangular.