Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Rosales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Potentilla recta
FAMILY
Rosaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Rough-fruited Cinquefoil at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Potentilla recta
FAMILY
Rosaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Potentilla recta
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 9 (2014)
Potentilla recta
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 097-04-006:
Potentilla recta FAMILY Rosaceae
COMMON NAME:
Rough-fruited Cinquefoil, Sulphur Cinquefoil, Sulphur Five-fingers
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_pore5_001_lvd
)
USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970 swus_page_221
)
JK Marlow jkm210426_9835
April Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm210426_9836
April Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm090523_036
May Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm090523_039
May Greenville County SC
Roadside
Pollinator at work.
)
JK Marlow s090523_h
May Greenville County SC
Roadside
Leaves palmately compound, stipules pectinate [comb-like] to entire, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
leaves of Fragaria and Potentilla
)
Ben Geer Keys bgk1145_a
June
)
JK Marlow jkm0506a_17
June Greenville County SC
Field
)
JK Marlow jkm0506a_18
June Greenville County SC
Field
)
JK Marlow jkm0506a_19
June Greenville County SC
Field
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_p_recta_sulphur
June
The 5 petals are pale yellow & shallowly notched on the rounded tip, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
COMPARE
flowers of Cinquefoil and Strawberry species
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_p_recta_sulphur_2
June
Sepals 5-10mm long, acute, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
sepals and bracts of Cinquefoil and Strawberry species
)
JK Marlow s050626_f
June Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaflets coarsely serrate to narrowly pectinate [comb-like], per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm060710_127
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
Petals 8-15 mm long, pale (sulphur) yellow, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm060710_130
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
Pollinator at work.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Potentilla recta
FAMILY
Rosaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Potentilla recta
FAMILY
Rosaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Potentilla recta
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 9
Potentilla recta
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 097-04-006:
Potentilla recta
FAMILY
Rosaceae
1145
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Fields, pastures, roadsides, other disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Europe
Common (uncommon in GA Piedmont) (rare in GA Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
LEAVES:
Palmately compound: 5-7(9) leaflets
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellow
Radially symmetrical
5 united sepals/5 bracts
5 petals
25-30 stamens
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Brown
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p074
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p390
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p542
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p240
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p267
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p026?
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p110
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p314
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p119
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p152
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p070
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p328
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".