Potentilla recta

Sulphur cinquefoil

Family: Rosaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Sulphur cinquefoil is a naturalized perennial found in California's Central Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, and North Coast Ranges in generally disturbed areas at elevations of 150 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces pale yellow flowers about 6 to 9 millimeters wide in many-flowered clusters. Growing with spreading, hairy stems 20 to 60 centimeters tall that emerge from a tufted base, it forms a clumped, branching habit. Its palmate leaves feature 6 to 7 leaflets, with the central leaflet 30 to 80 millimeters long, oblanceolate in shape and evenly toothed along its edges. The fruit is small, brown, and prominently veined, measuring 1 to 1.5 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Generally disturbed areas

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 150-1500 m

Bioregions: CaRH, ScV, SnFrB

California counties: El Dorado, Trinity, Plumas, Sierra, Butte, Siskiyou, Santa Clara, Shasta

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