Potentilla biennis

Biennial or greene's cinquefoil, Greene's Cinquefoil

Family: Rosaceae · Type: annual · Native

Biennial or greene's cinquefoil is a California native annual found in the Sierra Nevada, Transverse Ranges, Great Basin, and Desert Mountains on moist shores at elevations of 1,500 to 3,100 meters. Flowering from May to October, this plant produces small white to cream-colored flowers less than 2.5 millimeters long with oblanceolate-elliptic petals. Growing with ascending to erect stems 10 to 70 centimeters tall that are spreading-hairy, it develops a distinct taproot and spreads with glandular vegetation. Its ternate leaves feature three leaflets, with the central leaflet 5 to 30 millimeters long, obovate in shape and bearing 7 to 13 teeth along its edges. The plant produces tiny smooth fruits approximately 0.6 millimeters long, giving it a delicate and understated appearance.

Habitat: Moist shores

Bloom period: May-Oct

Elevation: 1500-3100 m

Bioregions: SNH, TR, GB, DMtns

California counties: San Bernardino, Mono, Plumas, Tulare, Modoc, Inyo, Kern, Ventura, Nevada, Fresno, Lassen, Mariposa, Riverside, Placer, Sierra, Butte, Siskiyou, Madera, Alpine, Los Angeles, San Diego, El Dorado

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.