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Potentilla reptans

Common name:	Cinquefoil	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Norway south and east to the Mediterranean, Siberia, Himalayas.
Habitat:	Dry sunny locations in meadows, pastures and waste ground[4, 9], usually on basic or neutral soils[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Besparmak [E], Cincoenrama [E], Cinquefoil [E,H], Creeping Cinquefoil [L,P,B], Five Fingers [H], Five-Leaf Cinquefoil [E], Five-finger Blossom [H], Five-leaf Grass [H], Fivefinger [E], I'Hul Khamsat Awraq [E], Penthafilon [E], Sunkfield [H], Synkefoyle [H], Vieleaf [E], Vijfvingerkruid [D],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	reptans = creeping;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Britain; Europe; Greece; Iraq; Spain; Turkey

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m by 1m . It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from June to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees and flies. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 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 cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Meadow.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Young leaves - raw[7]. A useful addition to salads[7].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antispasmodic; Astringent; Febrifuge; Odontalgic.

Both the roots and the herb are antispasmodic, astringent and febrifuge[4, 7, 9, 54, 240]. An infusion of the dried herb is used in the treatment of diarrhoea etc, it is also used as a gargle for sore throats and is used externally as an astringent lotion[4]. A concentrated decoction of the root relieves toothache[7].

Other Uses

Cosmetic.

The plant is an ingredient in many anti-wrinkle cosmetic preparations for the skin[7].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a well-drained loam, preferring a dry position in full sun but tolerating shade[1]. Prefers an alkaline soil but tolerates a slightly acid soil[200].
The plant spreads vigorously by means of runners and can be invasive with new runners up to 1.5 metres long being produced each year[1, 4].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].
The flowers are partially closed in dull weather and close completely of a night time[4]. When closing, self-fertilisation is affected because the anthers are caused to touch the stigmas[4].

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 or autumn. 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

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[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.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

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]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[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.

[54] Hatfield. A. W. How to Enjoy your Weeds. Frederick Muller Ltd 1977 ISBN 0-584-10141-4
Interesting reading.

[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.

Readers Comments

Potentilla reptans

MISS.MCCRAE (lady_reckless_2003@hotmail.com) Sun Mar 23 20:22:52 2003

This plant Potentilla reptans(Cinquefoil) has many uses, and comes from a good family, though can be invasive in the garden. It might be well worthwhile planting it in a pot and then putting it in the location preferred for its habitat in the garden if your worried about invasion. I've come across many recipes including this plant in it's ingredients.

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Bibliography

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