Potentilla palustris

Swamp Cinquefoil

Swamp Cinquefoil
Photo © by Earl J.S. Rook

Flora, fauna, earth, and sky...
The natural history of the northwoods

Name:

• Potentilla, from the Latin, potentia, "might, force, power".
• palustris, from the Latin, paluster, "marshy, boggy"
• Swamp Cinquefoil, from the Latin, quinque, "five", and folium, "leaf", hence "five leaf"; and its preferred habitat. The Cinquefoils are a large and varied group of native plants.
• Other common names include: Marsh Cinquefoil, Marsh Five-Finger, Purple Marshlocks, Swamp Potentilla, Còig-bhileach Uisge (Gaelic), Kråkklöver, Kärrklöver (Swe), Myrhatt (Nor), Kragefod (Dan), Kurjenjalka (Fin), Engjarós (Is), Sumpf-Blutauge (Ger), Soopihl, Soopihlakas, Varesejalg, Partsijalg, Partsivarbad (Est)

Taxonomy:

• Kingdom Plantae, the Plants
  • Division Magnoliophyta, the Angiosperms (flowering plants)
    • Class Magnoliopsida, the Dicotyledons
    • Subclass Rosidae
      • Order Rosales
        • Family Rosaceae, the Roses
          • Genus Potentilla (Comarum), the Cinquefoils
• Taxonomic Serial Number: 501615
• Also known as Comarum palustre, Potentilla palustris var. parvifolia, Potentilla palustris var. villosa
• The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) shows the accepted name to be Comarum palustre.

Description:

• A creeping, deciduous, waterside shrublet
• A ¼, ½, ¾, º, é
• Leaves pinnate with 3-7 narrow leaflets; leaflets 1"-3" long, sharply saw-toothed
• Stem reddish brown, low sprawling, vine-like to 24" or more in length.
• Roots long rhizomes
• Flowers red to purple, showy, about 1" diameter, blooming June - August
• Sepals
• Petals
• Stamens
• Pistils
• Ovary superior (within blossom) inferior (below flower)
• Fruit
• Seed tiny, kidney- or ear-shaped, may have visible veins or ribs

Propagation: rhizomes, seeds

Prefers peat soils but will establish in moist sandy areas. Common in older cranberry bogs, along bed edges, swamps, streambanks, bogs and drainage ditches.

Identification:

• Identifiable as
• Distinguished from
• Field Marks

Distribution:

• Alaska to Ontario, south to New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, and California.

Habitat:

• Lake shores, marshy river and stream margins

Associates:

• Trees:
• Shrubs:
• Herbs:
• Ground Covers:
• Mammals:
• Birds:

History:

Uses:

Reproduction:

• Sexually by seed
• Flowers
• Assexually by

Propagation:

• By rhizome division,

Cultivation:

• Hardy to USDA Zone 3 (average minimum annual temperature -40ºF)
• Cultural Requirements
• Sun
• Soil
• Water
• Spacing
• Fertilization
• Size 12"-18"W x 12"-18"H
• Growth rate
• Good for
• Cultivars include
• variety 'Alba', with
• Cultivars and species available by mail order from specialty suppliers or at local nurseries
• Prefers constantly wet soils
• Ideal for artificial bogs, naturalistic pond margins

Links:

• Den virtuella floran, from the Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Stockholm

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