Rough-fruited Cinquefoil

Rough-fruited Cinquefoil
Rough-fruited Cinquefoil. Potentilla recta.
Rosaceae, the rose family.

Description:
Plant: Erect, hairy plant, 1'-2' tall, with palmately compound leaves and loose clusters of pale yellow flowers with notched petals. Perennial?
Flowers: Pale yellow, about 3/4" wide, with five distinctly notched petals, five sharply pointed sepals shorter than the petals, along with five bractlets that look like sepals, and numerous stamens. Flowers form a loose [[cymose]] cluster. The yellow is distinctly lighter than other common cinquefoils.
Leaves: Alternate, palmately compound, usually with five to seven lobes, narrow leaflets deeply toothed, [[oblanceolate]] in outline, 1"-3" long.
Fruit: A dry capsule enclosed by the sepal remnants.
Blooming: Late May - August
Habitat: Fields, roadsides, weedy spots.

Comments: An invasive introduction from Europe, the plant has spread across most of North America. The paler yellow color, clustered flowers, petals longer than sepals, and long, narrow leaflets distinguish this plant from other common cinquefoils.

Where to find it: Scattered in weedy, open areas in the park, most common on the hillside bordering the pond on the northeast. This species stops blooming earlier than Rough Cinquefoil (P. norvegica