Three-Toothed Cinquefoil
Potentilla tridentata
Family Rosaceae

Characteristics:
* Flowers white, with 5 petals, 1/2-1".
* Leaves compound, with 3 leaflets.
* Leaflets with 3 rounded teeth at the tip, evergreen, shiny, turning deep red in autumn.
* Height: 1-10".

Natural History:
* Flowers June - August.
* Habitat: Open, rocky areas with acid soil, in the alpine zone and at all elevations.
* Range: Northern Canada to northern United States, more south on open mountains.
* Native.

Connections!
* According to 17th-century doctor Nicholas Culpeper, cinquefoil is "...an herb of Jupiter, and therefore strengthens the parts of the body it rules; let Jupiter be angular and strong when it is gather'd...let no man despise it because it is plain and easy, the ways of God are all such."

   

Created by: Allaire Diamond and Jiasuey Hsu
Maintained by: Nick Rodenhouse
Created: July 31, 1998
Last Modified: November 21, 2008