Common Cinquefoil

Description:

Description: This native perennial plant sprawls along the ground by means of stolons; it is less than 1' tall. The slender stems and stolons are initially green, but become red with age. Depending on the local ecotype, they can be nearly glabrous, or covered with spreading white hairs. The stolons can extend up to 3' and their tips often root in the ground, forming new plantlets. The compound leaves are palmate (with 5 leaflets) and alternate along the stolons or stems. Each leaflet is up to 3" long and ¾" across. There is coarse serration along the margins, except near the base, and prominent venation. The upper surface is glabrous, while the lower surface may be hairy or nearly glabrous. The leaflets are narrowly ovate (but with blunt tips), obovate, or oblanceolate; young leaflets often have their margins curled upward. A single yellow flower develops from a long pedicel from the upper axils of some of the compound leaves. This flower is about ½" across, and has 5 yellow petals that are narrow at the base, but rounded toward their tips, which are sometimes notched. The green calyx has 5 triangular tips that are a little shorter than the petals. The center of the flower has a somewhat flattened reproductive structure, which is surrounded by about 20 stamens. The blooming period can occur from spring to mid-summer, and lasts about a month. Only a few flowers are in bloom at the same time. There is no noticeable floral scent. The achenes are without tufts of hair. There is a short, thick rootstock that divides into coarse secondary roots. This plant often forms loose colonies by means of its stolons.

Habitat:

Habitats include mesic to dry black soil prairies, open upland forests, savannas, gravelly seeps, and abandoned fields. This plant occurs in both disturbed areas and high quality habitats. This one was photographed at Silver Bluff Audubon Center near Jackson (Aiken County), SC

Notes:

The flowers primarily attract small bees and flies, including Mason bees, Small Carpenter bees, Nomadine Cuckoo bees, Halictid bees, Syrphid flies, Tachinid flies, Blow flies, and others. Less common visitors are wasps, skippers, and butterflies. These insects seek nectar, although bees also collect pollen. The seeds are little used by birds. Small mammalian herbivores, such as rabbits and groundhogs, often eat the foliage.