Dwarf cinquefoil

Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated February 2018.

Scientific name: Potentilla canadensis L.

Common name(s): dwarf cinquefoil, early cinquefoil

Links: USDA PLANTS Profile, NPIN Profile, Go Botany

Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)

Description:

– perennial

– generally flowers June, July in ME

-leaves are

  • compound
  • alternate

– may be confused with P. simplex; see left sidebar of Go Botany webpage

Habitat:

-dry soils

-disturbed sites

-meadows

-fields

 

Source(s):

Heinrich, B. 1976. Flowering phenologies: Bog, woodland, and disturbed habitats. Ecology. 57(5):890-899.

Go Botany. “Potentilla Canadensis L.” Potentilla Canadensis (Dwarf Cinquefoil): Go Botany, 2020, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/potentilla/canadensis/.