Rosaceae

Potentilla gracilis

Fivefinger Cinquefoil

Tuft. Stem ascending, with spreading hairs. Leaves green, oval, divided palmately into 5–9 leaflets. Largest leaflet at center, with sharply cut teeth or lobes, hairs on top mostly at leaf base, more densely white-hairy on underside. Flowers few to many in loose cluster of ascending stalks. Flower petals wide, 1/8–2/3 in. long. Grows in meadows, open forests, roadsides, at low to alpine elevations. Our most variable cinquefoil, with many varieties found over much of western North America. Telling them apart requires a technical key.

• Rarity: Common
• Flowering Time: Late Spring, Early Summer
• Life Cycle: Perennial
• Height: 1--2 feet
• Habitat: Meadow, West-Side Forest, East-Side Forest, Shrub-Steppe
• Found In: Olympic Np, Mt. Rainier Np, N Cascades Np
• Native: Yes