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Hoary Cinquefoil

Hoary Cinquefoil

Potentilla argentea

Identify the Hoary Cinquefoil from a photo and log your finds with Florapass.

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How common: Common

Alien species

Hoary Cinquefoil is a small, yellow‑flowered perennial of the rose family. It is easy to notice by the silvery white underside of its five‑part leaves. The species grows across much of Europe and Asia and has also spread to North America. You’ll find it in dry, open places such as sandy or rocky ground and roadsides.

Did you know?

  • The silvery look comes from dense white hairs on the leaf undersides—hence the name “hoary.”
  • The base leaves can stay green through winter.

About the species

Identification

Slender, upright or slightly leaning plant 15–30 cm tall. Stems stiff, branching from halfway up, often reddish at the base and covered in fine silvery hairs. Leaves are usually split into five narrow, finger‑like parts: top side green with few hairs, underside densely white and felt‑like; edges curve slightly backward. A low leaf circle at the base can stay green over winter. Flowers bright yellow, small (petals about 4–5 mm), in a loose, wide spray with stiff uneven branches. Small pale yellow hard seeds follow. Differs from other yellow cinquefoils by the very white leaf undersides and rolled edges. Flowers in Finland June–August.

Plant group

Herbaceous plants

Habitat

meadow

Flowering

Jun–Aug

About the habitat

Dry, open places: sandy or rocky soils, dry meadows and heaths, open slopes, rail and road embankments, and waste ground. Common in southern and central Finland, becoming rarer toward the north.

Sources

Photo: Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Potentilla argentea Pięciornik srebrny 2022-06-29 01.jpg

Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki versot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38851

Text: Pinkka: A Pohjolan kasveja - Laburnum-Luzula, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38851

Text: Pinkka: IPS-153 Flora of Subarctic Europe - Nardus-Pyrola, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38851

Text: Pinkka: Kasvitieteen retkeily Ahvenanmaalle - Bomarsundin linnoitus, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38851

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopeahanhikki

See also