Creeping cinquefoil
Potentilla reptans
The name 'cinquefoil' translates from Old French as 'five leaves', referring to the characteristic five leaflets that make up its palmately compound leaves.
- Scientific name
- Potentilla reptans
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Rosales › Rosaceae › Potentilla
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Grasslands, meadows, lawns, roadsides, and forest edges.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (photosynthesis)
- Range
- Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, North America (introduced)
- Size
- 10-15 cm height; creeping stolons can reach up to 1 meter in length
- Lifespan
- Perennial (individual plants can live for several years, cloning indefinitely via runners)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Intensive agricultural cultivation and heavy herbicide use in urban landscaping.
- Safe to approach?
- Creeping cinquefoil is completely harmless to humans and animals. It can be safely touched and observed from any distance. If foraging, ensure the area has not been treated with chemical pesticides or herbicides.
Potentilla reptans , known as the creeping cinquefoil , European cinquefoil or creeping tormentil , is a plant in the Rosaceae family.
Photo: Benjamin Zwittnig, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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