Sulphur Cinquefoil

Rose (Rosaceae family):

Potentilla recta L.

EPPO code:

PTLRC

Other names:

Yellow cinquefoil, cinquefoil

Species information

Lifecycle:

Perennial.

Propagation:

Reproduces by seed.

Emergence:

Sulphur cinquefoil seed prefers warm and sunny environments for maximum germination (Werner and Soule, 1976).

Habitat:

Sulphur cinquefoil is found most commonly in waste areas and pastures, and along roadsides. Occasionally, it can be found in no-till crop production systems.

Competitiveness:

No data exits on the competitiveness of sulphur cinquefoil, but it is not considered a significant weed in agricultural crops. In fact, it is more often considered an ornamental plant.

Identification clues

Seedling

Cotyledons:

Orbicular.

Young leaves:

The first leaves of sulphur cinquefoil are round to oval and have deeply toothed margins.

Mature leaves:

Its mature leaves are palmately compound and made up of five to seven narrow, deeply toothed, hairy leaflets borne on a long hairy petiole (stalk).

Mature plant

Stem:

Sulphur cinquefoil’s stem is hairy, grows 20–80 cm tall and branched at the base.

Flowers:

Flowers have five, light yellow petals that are 2–2.5 cm across. Fruit: Sulphur cinquefoil’s fruit is 1–1.5 mm long and wrinkly-ridged. Roots: Coarse fibrous root system.

Often mistaken for

I know it's not Rough cinquefoil because sulphur cinquefoil has compound leaves with 5–7 leaflets while rough cinquefoil’s compound leaf has three leaflets.

I know it's not Marijuana because rough cinquefoil is a much shorter plant. Marijuana has compound leaves that are much larger; each plant has more leaflets than rough cinquefoil.