Potentilla biennis
Encyclopedia
Potentilla biennis is a species of cinquefoil
known by the common name biennial cinquefoil. It is native to western North America from northwestern Canada to the southwestern United States, where it grows in moist habitat. This is an annual or biennial herb producing an erect stem up to 70 centimeters tall from a taproot
. It is hairy and glandular in texture. The hairy leaves are each divided into three toothed, oval leaflets each up to 3 centimeters long. The inflorescence
is a cyme of several flowers. Each flower has five oval yellow petals 1 or 2 millimeters long and five triangular sepal
s which are slightly longer. The fruit is a minute whitish achene
.
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...
known by the common name biennial cinquefoil. It is native to western North America from northwestern Canada to the southwestern United States, where it grows in moist habitat. This is an annual or biennial herb producing an erect stem up to 70 centimeters tall from a taproot
Taproot
A taproot is an enlarged, somewhat straight to tapering plant root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally.Plants with taproots are difficult to transplant...
. It is hairy and glandular in texture. The hairy leaves are each divided into three toothed, oval leaflets each up to 3 centimeters long. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a cyme of several flowers. Each flower has five oval yellow petals 1 or 2 millimeters long and five triangular sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s which are slightly longer. The fruit is a minute whitish achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...
.