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Potentilla palustris

Potentilla palustris: Flower
Photo by NatEnv. High resolution version

Common name:	Marsh Cinquefoil	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	(L.)Scop.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:	Comarum palustre (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Iceland south and east to the Pyrenees, temperate Asia and Japan.
Habitat:	Marshes, bogs, acid fens and wet heaths[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.
	P. palustris var. parvifolia[B,P] P. palustris var. villosa[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Cinquefoil, Marsh [S], Marsh Cinquefoil [S,L], Marsh Five-finger [L], Purple Marshlocks [B,P], Wateraardbei [D],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	palustris = in bogs
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.45m by 1.5m . It is hardy to zone 3. It is in flower from May to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires wet soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Bog Garden.

Edible Uses

Tea.

The dried leaves are a tea substitute[177, 183, 257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent.

The root is astringent. A decoction has been used in the treatment of dysentery and stomach cramps[257].

Other Uses

Dye Tannin.

A red dye is obtained from the flowers[61].
Tannin is obtained from the root[61].

Cultivation details

Requires a moist to wet soil, preferably on the acid side.
A very cold-hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -25° c[187].
A rapidly spreading plant, capable of forming clumps several metres across[187]. It is a plant for the wild wet garden[187].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].

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 their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[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.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Comarum palustre (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.

References for potentilla palustris (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[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

[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.

[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.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[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.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[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.

[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.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Potentilla+palustris
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Potentilla+palustris

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