Dasiphora is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of three species of shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

s in the rose family Rosaceae

Rosaceae

Rosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...

, native to Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, with one species D. fruticosa (Shrubby Cinquefoil

Shrubby Cinquefoil

Dasiphora fruticosa is a shrub in the family Rosaceae, native to the cool temperate to subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, often growing at high altitudes in mountains.It is a deciduous, much branched flowering shrub growing to 0.1–1 m tall, rarely up to 1.5 m...

), with a circumpolar

Circumpolar

The term circumpolar may refer to:* circumpolar navigation: to travel the world "vertically" traversing both of the poles* Antarctic region** Antarctic Circle** the Antarctic Circumpolar Current** Subantarctic** List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands...

 range across the entire cool temperate Northern Hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

. In the past, the genus was normally included in Potentilla

Potentilla

Potentilla is the genus of typical cinquefoils, containing about 500 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbs in the rose family Rosaceae. They are generally Holarctic in distribution, though some may even be found in montane biomes of the New Guinea Highlands...

as Potentilla sect. Rhopalostylae, but genetic

Genetics

Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....

 evidence has shown it to be distinct.

The leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 are divided into five (occasionally three or seven) leaflets arranged pinnately, whence the name cinquefoil (French, cinque feuilles, "five leaves").

Selected species

• Dasiphora davurica (syn. D. glabra, D. mandschurica, Potentilla davurica, P. glabra)
• Dasiphora fruticosa
  Shrubby Cinquefoil
  Dasiphora fruticosa is a shrub in the family Rosaceae, native to the cool temperate to subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, often growing at high altitudes in mountains.It is a deciduous, much branched flowering shrub growing to 0.1–1 m tall, rarely up to 1.5 m...
  
  (syn. Potentilla fruticosa)
• Dasiphora parvifolia (syn. Potentilla parvifolia)

The Flora of China also includes Potentilla bifurca (syn. Sibbaldianthe bifurca) and P. imbricata in this group, but these species (which are not shrubs) do not have published combinations in Dasiphora.