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Potentilla fruticosa

Common name:	Shrubby Cinquefoil	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 17, 200
Synonyms:	Pentaphylloides fruticosa ((L.)Schwarz.), Dasiphora fruticosa ((L.)Rydb.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Sweden south and east to the Pyrenees, N. and C. Asia to Japan.
Habitat:	Damp rocky ground, usually on limestone[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Dasiphora fruticosa auct. non[P] P. floribunda[B,P] P. fruticosa auct. non[P] P. fruticosa ssp. floribunda[B,P] P. fruticosa var. tenuifolia[B,P] Pentaphylloides floribunda[B,C,CAL,P] Pentaphylloides fruticosa auct. non[P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Bush Cinquefoil [E], Bush Potentilla [S], Golden-hardhack [B], Potentilla, Bush [S], Shrubby Cinquefoil [L,P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	fruticosa = shrubby
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Alsaka(Eskimo)

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 1.2m by 1.2m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from June to July. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required) and are pollinated by Bees and flies. The plant not is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Sunny Edge, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Tea.

A tea is made from the dried leaves[2, 46, 61, 183, 257, 272]. Used as a substitute for China tea, especially by people living at high elevations in the Himalayas[272].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent.

The leaves are astringent[240].
The juice of the root is used in the treatment of indigestion[272].

Other Uses

Ground cover Hedge Incense Packing Soil stabilization Tinder.

Can be grown as a medium size informal hedge[29, 200]. Trim in spring[200].
Some forms, notably 'Longacre', 'Elizabeth' and 'Gold Drop' have a dense spreading habit and make good ground cover plants[197].
A useful plant for controlling soil erosion[158].
The dry, flaky bark is used as a tinder for friction fires[99, 257]. (fires started by rubbing 2 pieces of wood together very fast).
The powdered plant is used as an incense[272].
The leaves are used as a packing material in pillows[257].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a well-drained loam, preferring a position in full sun but tolerating shade[1]. Prefers an alkaline soil but tolerates a slightly acid soil[200]. Prefers a light well-drained soil[108]. Established plants are drought tolerant[190].
A very cold-hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to at least -25° c[184].
A very ornamental shrub[1], there are many named varieties[11].
Polymorphic[11]. A good bee plant[108].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].
Dislikes growing under trees, especially Juglans species[18].
Plants are usually dioecious but hermaphrodite forms are also known[182]. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring or autumn in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 3 - 5cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Pot up in the autumn if possible and overwinter in a cold frame[78].
Softwood cuttings taken in the early summer[11, 113]. Easy.

Cultivars

'Longacre': Growing about 80cm tall[11], it has a dense spreading habit and makes a good ground cover plant[197].
'Gold Drop' 'Farreri': A dwarf form growing up to 60cm tall and 90cm wide[11, 200] with a dense spreading habit, it makes a good ground cover plant[197].
'Elizabeth' 'Arbuscula': Growing about 1 metre tall and wide, and flowering freely on the tips of every shoot for about 5 months each year[11, 200], it has a dense spreading habit and makes a good ground cover plant[197]. It is rather subject to mildew, however[11].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Pentaphylloides floribunda (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for potentilla fruticosa (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[18] Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.

[29] Shepherd. F.W. Hedges and Screens. Royal Horticultural Society. 1974 ISBN 0900629649
A small but informative booklet giving details of all the hedging plants being grown in the R.H.S. gardens at Wisley in Surrey.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[99] Turner. N. J. Plants in British Columbian Indian Technology. British Columbia Provincial Museum 1979 ISBN 0-7718-8117-7
Excellent and readable guide.

[108] International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981
The title says it all.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[158] Gupta. B. L. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. Forest Research Institute Press 1945
A good flora for the middle Himalayan forests, sparsly illustrated. Not really for the casual reader.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[190] Chatto. B. The Dry Garden. Dent 1982 ISBN 0460045512
A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.

[197] Royal Horticultural Society. Ground Cover Plants. Cassells. 1989 ISBN 0-304-31089-1
A handy little booklet from the R.H.S.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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