Potentilla gracilis Douglas ex Hook.
graceful cinquefoil (slender cinquefoil)
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
graceful cinquefoil (slender cinquefoil)
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a thick, scaly, branched stem-base; stems several, tufted, erect or decumbent at the base, 30-80 cm tall, often branched, appressed- to spreading-hairy.
Leaves:
Basal leaves long-stalked, palmately compound; leaflets 5 to 7 (9), lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, (2) 3-8 (10) cm long, coarsely saw-toothed to deeply lobed, greenish and variously hairy (most often spreading-hairy to woolly-hairy, sometimes also glandular, sometimes nearly smooth) above, usually paler and hairier, often white-woolly beneath; stem leaves alternate, reduced, 1 or 2.
Flowers:
Inflorescence an open, somewhat flat-topped, terminal cluster of several to many stalked flow ers; corollas yellow, bowl-shaped, the petals 5, heart-shaped, 6-10 mm long, shallowly notched at the tip; calyces hairy, 5-lobed, the lobes broadly lanceolate, 4-7 mm long, alternating with 5 shorter, narrowly lanceolate bractlets; ovaries superior; stamens 20.
Fruits:
Achenes, numerous, clustered, lopsided-egg-shaped, 1-2 mm long, greenish, smooth to faintly net-veined.
Notes:
Three varieties occur in BC
1. Leaflets cleft at least 2/3 of the way to the midvein, the segments usually linear and greyish- or whitish-hairy beneath........................ var. flabelliformis (Lehm.) Nutt. ex T. & G.
1. Leaflets cleft no more than 2/3 of the way to the midvein, the segments usually lanceolate and often greenish beneath.
2. Lower surface of leaves white-woolly, much lighter than the upper surface................. var. gracilis
2. Lower surface of the leaves variously hairy but rarely woolly, usually greenish, not much lighter than the upper surface....................... var. fastigiata (Nutt.) S. Wats.
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Early Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Black
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Potentilla gracilis
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1131 | 340 | 2470 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
14 | 0 | 230 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
207 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 0 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
294 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
IDF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(7), BAFA(7), BG(10), BWBS(2), ESSF(27), ICH(6), IDF(100), IMA(1), MS(16), PP(39), SBPS(38), SBS(15), SWB(7) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry to moist meadows, grasslands, rocky slopes, open forests, and roadsides and waste places in the lowland to montane zones; common in S BC except rare on the coast (var. gracilis), rare in BC N of 55degreeN; N to AK, E to SK and S to CA and MX.Status Information
| Scientific Name | Origin Status | Provincial Status | BC List (Red Blue List) | COSEWIC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potentilla gracilis var. fastigiata | Native | S5 | Unknown | Not Listed |
| Potentilla gracilis var. flabelliformis | Native | S5 | Yellow | Not Listed |
| Potentilla gracilis var. gracilis | Native | S2 | Red | Not Listed |
BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.