Potentilla pulcherrima var. pulcherrima Lehm.
pretty cinquefoil (beautiful cinquefoil)
Rosaceae (Rose family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Jamie Fenneman     (Photo ID #30057)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Potentilla pulcherrima
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

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 to somewhat pinnately compound; leaflets 5 to 7 (9), lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, 2-8 cm long, finely, evenly and deeply saw-toothed, the teeth extending 1/5 to 1/2 the distance to the midvein, greenish and spreading-hairy above, greyish and hairier 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.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Potentilla pulcherrima

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)
1719 1165 2216
Slope Gradient (%)
21 0 65

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

217 28 279
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
3 0 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
10
Modal BEC Zone Class
ESSF

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

AT(1), BAFA(1), ESSF(4), ICH(2), MS(2)

Habitat and Range

Dry to moist meadows, grasslands, rocky slopes, open forests, and roadsides and waste places in the montane zone; frequent in SE BC, E to AB and S to NV, AZ, NM and MX.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Potentilla camporum Rydb.
Potentilla gracilis var. pulcherrima (Lehm.) Fernald