| Potentilla erecta | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Genus: | Potentilla |
| Species: | P. erecta |
| Binomial name | |
| Potentilla erecta | |
| Synonyms | |
Potentilla erecta (syn. Tormentilla erecta, Potentilla laeta, Potentilla tormentilla, known as the (common) tormentil, septfoil [1] or erect cinquefoil [2] ) is a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the rose family (Rosaceae).
Potentilla erecta is a low, clump-forming plant with slender, procumbent to arcuately upright stalks, growing 10–30 centimetres (3.9–11.8 in) tall and with non-rooting runners. It grows wild predominantly in Europe and western Asia , mostly on acid soils and in a wide variety of habitats such as mountains, heaths, meadows, sandy soils and dunes. [3]
This plant flowers from May to August/September. There is one yellow, 7–11 millimetres (0.28–0.43 in) wide flower, growing at the tip of a long stalk. There are almost always four notched petals, each between 3 and 6 mm long. Four petals are rather uncommon in the rose family. The petals are somewhat longer than the sepals. There are 20–25 stamens.
The radical leaves have a long petiole, whilst the leaves on the flowering stalks are usually sessile or with short petioles. The glossy leaves are alternate, ternate, consisting of three obovate leaflets with serrated margins. The paired stipules are leaflike and palmately lobed.
There are 2–8 dry, inedible fruits.
Potentilla erecta is found wild throughout Europe, Scandinavia and West Asia. [4]
Potentilla erecta is almost ubiquitous in the British Isles, recorded in almost all 10 km squares except close to the Wash. and is listed as a species of least concern. [5] It is very common in grasslands, heaths, moors and mountains, bogs including roadsides and pastures, mostly on acidic soils [3] but avoiding chalk. [6] It is a component of British National Vegetation Classification community M25 (Molinia caerulea–Potentilla erecta mire).
In North America Potentilla erecta is found in the east as an introduced species.
The rhizomatous root is thick.[ clarification needed ] It has little value for food use because of its bitterness and low caloric value. The roots are a main ingredient of a bitter liqueur from Bavaria and the Black Forest area, called Blutwurz. [7] It is also used in Ukraine along with honey in horilka. [8] The plant is used in herbal medicine as an astringent because of its tannin content,[ citation needed ] which is unusually high for a herbaceous plant.[ citation needed ] Structurally-related phlobaphenes, used as a red dye for leather known as tormentil red, can be extracted from the root of the common tormentil along with the triterpene alcohol tormentiol. [9] Aqueous extracts of the rhizomes are reported to have low toxicity in rats and mice. [10]
Aquilegia is a genus of about 60–70 species of perennial plants that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere, known for the spurred petals of their flowers.
Potentilla is a genus containing over 300 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae.
Solanum carolinense, the Carolina horsenettle, is not a true nettle, but a member of the Solanaceae, or nightshade family. It is a perennial herbaceous plant, native to the southeastern United States, though its range has expanded throughout much of temperate North America. The plant is an invasive in parts of Europe, Asia, and Australia. The stem and undersides of larger leaf veins are covered with prickles.
Chamaenerion angustifolium is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the willowherb family Onagraceae. It is known in North America as fireweed, in some parts of Canada as great willowherb, in Britain and Ireland as rosebay willowherb. In the United Kingdom it is also known as bombweed, as a result of its rapid appearance on city bomb sites during the Blitz of World War II; the plant is also traditionally known as Saint Anthony's laurel. It is also known by the synonyms Chamerion angustifolium and Epilobium angustifolium. It is native throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere, including large parts of the boreal forests.
Argentina anserina is a perennial flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. It is known by the common names silverweed, common silverweed or silver cinquefoil. It is native throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere, often on river shores and in grassy habitats such as meadows and road-sides. The plant was originally placed in the genus Potentilla by Carl Linnaeus in his Species plantarum, edition 1, (1753) but was reclassified into the resurrected genus Argentina by research conducted in the 1990s. The reclassification remains controversial and is not accepted by some authorities. It is a species aggregate which has frequently been divided into multiple species.
Nelumbo nucifera, also known as Sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often refers to members of the family Nymphaeaceae.
Sanguinaria canadensis, bloodroot, is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern North America. It is the only species in the genus Sanguinaria, included in the poppy family Papaveraceae, and is most closely related to Eomecon of eastern Asia.
Podophyllum peltatum is an herbaceous perennial plant in the family Berberidaceae. Its common names are mayapple, American mandrake, wild mandrake, and ground lemon. It is widespread across most of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada.
Potentilla reptans, known as the creeping cinquefoil, European cinquefoil or creeping tormentil, is a flowering plant in the family Rosaceae.
Anthriscus sylvestris, known as cow parsley, wild chervil, wild beaked parsley, Queen Anne's lace or keck, is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant in the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), genus Anthriscus. It is also sometimes called mother-die, a name that is also applied to the common hawthorn. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa. It is related to other diverse members of Apiaceae, such as parsley, carrot, hemlock and hogweed. It is often confused with Daucus carota, another member of the Apiaceae also known as "Queen Anne's lace" or "wild carrot".
Lysimachia europaea is a flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae, called by the common name chickweed-wintergreen or arctic starflower. It is a small herbaceous perennial plant with one or more whorls of leaves on a single slender erect stem. It is about one third of a foot high (10 cm). The broad lanceolate leaves are pale green but take on a copper hue in late summer. The solitary white flowers are reminiscent of small wood anemones and appear in midsummer. The fruits are globular dry capsules but are seldom produced.
Drymocallis arguta, commonly known as the tall cinquefoil, prairie cinquefoil, or sticky cinquefoil, is a perennial herbaceous plant native to North America. It was formerly included with the typical cinquefoils in the genus Potentilla.
This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnifying lens. This page provides help in understanding the numerous other pages describing plants by their various taxa. The accompanying page—Plant morphology—provides an overview of the science of the external form of plants. There is also an alphabetical list: Glossary of botanical terms. In contrast, this page deals with botanical terms in a systematic manner, with some illustrations, and organized by plant anatomy and function in plant physiology.
Rosa californica, the California wildrose, or California rose, is a species of rose native to the U.S. states of California and Oregon and the northern part of Baja California, Mexico. The plant is native to chaparral and woodlands and the Sierra Nevada foothills, and can survive drought, though it grows most abundantly in moist soils near water sources.
Circaea lutetiana, known as broad-leaved enchanter's nightshade, is a plant in the evening primrose family, Onagraceae.
Potentilla gracilis, known as slender cinquefoil or graceful cinquefoil, is a species of cinquefoil. It ranges from Alaska down the west coast of Canada and the United States, and Colorado.
Glycine tabacina, commonly known as variable glycine, is a scrambling plant in the bean family found in Australia. It grows in areas of high rainfall, ranging to semi-arid areas. The leaves are in threes, 7 cm long by 2 cm wide. Bluish to purple flowers form on racemes in the warmer months. The bean pod is up to 3 cm long. The habitat is among grasses, often in open country.
Lobelia urens, commonly known as heath lobelia or acrid lobelia is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family. It is predominantly native to western Europe but can also be found in northern Morocco and in the island of Madeira off Northwest Africa.
Potentilla flabellifolia is a species of cinquefoil known by the common names high mountain cinquefoil, fanleaf cinquefoil and fan-foil.
Acid grassland is a nutrient-poor habitat characterised by grassy tussocks and bare ground.
Media related to Potentilla erecta at Wikimedia Commons