Creeping cinquefoil Potentilla reptans
Table of Contents
Creeping cinquefoil is an attractive little plant, especially with its bright cheerful flowers, however, it can be a major headache for gardeners as this plant has an aggressive growth habit and can quickly take over garden borders.
Plant family: Rosaceae
Aliases: Five finger grass, creeping tormentil
Flowering period: June – September
Flower colour: Yellow
Preferred soil type: Most types
Habitat: Grassland, hedgerows, roadside verges, waste ground
Status: Common
General information
A creeping, herbaceous, perennial wildflower that produces lovely golden flowers and brightens up roadside verges and hedgerows. It thrives in most types of soil and also grows on bare ground, such as garden borders. For this reason and it’s invasive properties it’s often considered a weed to gardeners.
This native plant spreads aggressively via over ground runners known as ‘stolon’s’ and anchors itself with a long taproot, for these reasons, it’s a troublesome ‘weed’ for many gardeners. It is sometimes confused with tormentil as both plants are similar in appearance, have the same growth habit and grow in the same habitat.
Identification
Flowers: The bright yellow flower bloom from June – September, each flower typically has 5 heart-shaped petals (however, this number can differ in rare instances) and measure between 17 – 25mm in diameter.
Leaves: The palmate leaves are made up of between 5 – 7 leaflets, each leaflet is narrow and sharply toothed (see above image). The leaves are long-stalked and hairless.
Value for wildlife
Creeping cinquefoil is visited by bees, butterflies, hoverflies and beetles, which come to feed on the plant.
Uses for creeping cinquefoil
The young leaves have been used as a potherb and in salads, while the roots can be cooked and eaten as a starchy vegetable tasting like parsnip.
It has medicinal uses with antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and astringent properties.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to use, share and adapt any of the images on this page, under the condition we receive a followed backlink to our website https://diversegardens.co.uk as the image source.
