Shrubby Cinquefoil

Close up of yellow Shrubby Cinquefoil flower.

Shrubby Cinquefoil bush with yellow flowers.

Shrubby Cinquefoil - Potentilla fruticosa

This shrub is a member of the Rose Family and is often used as an ornamental plant in landscaping. It is a very widely distributed species, occurring in Eurasia, and in North America from Alaska east to Newfoundland and south to New Mexico, Iowa, and New Jersey. It also grows at a wide range of elevations from sagebrush meadows at 5000 feet to timberline above 11,000 feet.

As with many widely-distributed species that may look similar wherever they are found, different populations of this species likely have a number of genetic variations that adapt them to the very different climates they encounter. A plant from Alaska could not likely survive if transplanted to Iowa. These different “versions” of a single species are called ecotypes.

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