Potentilla concinna


Early Cinquefoil

Nickle Lake Regional Park
15-May-1999

Note that the Flora of Alberta genera key requires "stamens 10 or more; NOT 5" for Potentilla which are herbs.  However, the Budd's Flora species key requires "stamens 5-20; NOT 25-30" for this species.

 
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Concinna:  Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this species.  
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plant herb-like; NOT woody based

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perennial plant with stout rootstocks, often showing bases of old leaves

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depressed, spreading plants; NOT erect, taller plants

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stems usually less than 10 cm high

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plants densely tufted, cushion-forming, WITHOUT runners

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plants NOT glandular

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principal leaves digitate or somewhat pinnate

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principal leaves with 5 leaflets; NOT more than 5; NOT 3

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cauline leaves few and small; stem NOT leafy; inflorescence NOT leafy

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leaflets dissected or incised more than halfway to midrib; but NOT pectinately incised, NOT serrate to shallowly lobed

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leaflet margins flat; NOT revolute

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leaflets densely white tomentose below; NOT pale green or grayish hirsute or pilose

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flowers solitary but NOT from nodes of stolons

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petals longer than sepals

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petals yellow

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stamens 5-20; NOT 25-30

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style terminal to the ovary or nearly so; NOT nearly basal

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style short-filiform; NOT long and filiform

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achenes generally smooth; NOT hairy

 
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Potentilla: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this genus.  These answers do not apply to all species of Potentilla found in the Canadian prairie provinces, but they do apply to this species.
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herbs, or with a woody base but otherwise herbaceous; NOT shrubs or trees

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leaves compound, but NOT much dissected into linear lobes

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basal leaves with more than 3 leaflets

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calyx lobes 5, alternating with smaller bractlets, together appearing like 10 sepals

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hypanthium lacking hooked prickles

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petals usually longer than the sepals; NOT little if any longer than the sepals (FOA)

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stamens 10 or more; NOT 5 (FOA)

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carpels 10-many

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carpels becoming achenes, but NOT in a fleshy receptacle (eg. strawberry); carpels NOT becoming druplets (eg. raspberry)

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style much shorter than the achene

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style articulated at base and deciduous from the achene; NOT jointed near the middle; NOT plumose; NOT persisting in fruit

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fruit NOT fleshy

 

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Rosaceae: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora leading to this family.
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herbs

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plants terrestrial or semi-aquatic

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plants NOT with colored milky juice

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plants with more than one normal leaf

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some or all leaves alternate

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leaves with stipules

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flowers with two floral rings, and with each petal distinct from the others

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calyx regular

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flowers regular in shape

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stamens usually separate or partly so; NOT united in a column

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stamens usually numerous; NOT 5 or 10

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ovary of one or more carpels; NOT of 5 united carpels