Potentilla recta L.
sulphur cinquefoil
Rosaceae (Rose family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Robert Flogaus-Faust     (Photo ID #85584)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

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

Species Information

General:
Perennial herb from a thick, simple to branched stem-base; stems 1 to few, tufted, erect, very leafy, 30-70 cm tall, branched above, with both coarse and fine hairs.
Leaves:
Basal leaves few, long-stalked, palmately compound; leaflets 5 to 7, lanceolate to oblong, 3-10 cm long, deeply saw-toothed, greenish and coarse-hairy on both surfaces, prominently veined beneath; stem leaves alternate, several, similar but shorter-stalked.
Flowers:
Inflorescence an open, flat-topped, terminal cluster of many stalked flowers; corollas pale yellow, bowl-shaped, the petals 5, egg-shaped, about 10 mm long, deeply notched at the tip; calyces glandular and long-hairy, 5-lobed, the lobes lance-egg-shaped, 5-9 mm long, alternating with 5 narrower bractlets about the same length as the calyx-lobes; ovaries superior, the styles glandular-warty and somewhat thickened at the base; stamens 25-30.
Fruits:
Achenes, numerous, clustered, lopsided-egg-shaped, about 1 mm long, brownish, strongly 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 recta

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)
722 380 1571
Slope Gradient (%)
22 0 75

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

199 10 360
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:
136
Modal BEC Zone Class
IDF

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

BG(3), ICH(13), IDF(104), MS(3), PP(13)

Habitat and Range

Dry to moist, disturbed open ground, waste places, roadsides, pastures and overgrazed grasslands in the lowland to steppe zones; common in S BC, especially east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; introduced from Eurasia.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Potentilla recta var. obscura (Nestler) W.D.J. Koch
Potentilla recta var. pilosa (Willd.) Ledeb.
Potentilla recta var. sulphurea (Lam. & DC.) Peyr.