Varileaf cinquefoil facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Varileaf cinquefoil |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Potentilla
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| Species: |
diversifolia
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The Potentilla diversifolia, also called the varileaf cinquefoil or mountain meadow cinquefoil, is a beautiful flowering plant. It belongs to the Rose Family, known scientifically as Rosaceae. This plant gets its common names from its leaves, which can look a bit different from each other.
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Where This Plant Grows
This special plant is native to North America. You can find it growing in damp places across many regions. Its home stretches from Alaska all the way to Greenland. It also grows in the Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountains. You can even spot it from California down to New Mexico.
Living with Idaho Fescue Grass
The varileaf cinquefoil is a very common plant in certain areas. For example, in the high mountain slopes of western Montana and central Idaho, it often grows alongside a type of grass called Festuca idahoensis, also known as Idaho fescue. They form a special plant community together.
What the Plant Looks Like
The Potentilla diversifolia has leaves that are a grayish-green color. Each leaf is usually divided into five smaller parts, called leaflets. These leaflets are mostly smooth, without much hair. They have deep cuts or teeth along their edges. Most of the plant's leaves grow low on its stem, with smaller ones appearing higher up.
The plant produces several flowers in a cluster called a cyme. Each flower has bright yellow petals that form a small cup shape. Below the petals, there are five pointed parts called sepals, and five even narrower parts called bractlets.
Different Types of Varileaf Cinquefoil
There are three main types, or varieties, of Potentilla diversifolia:
- Potentilla diversifolia var. diversifolia: This type is found all over western North America. It grows from Alaska, through the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, and down to the southern Rocky Mountains in New Mexico.
- Potentilla diversifolia var. perdissecta: You can find this variety mainly in and around the Rocky Mountains in both Canada and the United States.
- Potentilla diversifolia var. ranunculus: This type grows in Eastern Canada and Greenland.
See also
In Spanish: Potentilla diversifolia para niños
