Potentilla saximontana

Rydberg

Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 23: 399. 1896.

Common names: Rocky Mountains cinquefoil
Endemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 9. Treatment on page 166. Mentioned on page 165, 167, 178, 206.

Stems (0.2–) 0.4–1 (–1.5) dm. Basal leaves subpalmate to pinnate, (1–) 1.5–4 (–7) cm; petiole 0.5–2 (–4) cm, vestiture not or scarcely seasonally dimorphic, long hairs abundant to dense, appressed to spreading, 1–1.5 (–2) mm, weak to ± stiff, cottony hairs usually absent, crisped hairs absent or sparse, glands sparse; leaflets 3 at tip of leaf axis plus 1–2 (–3) additional pairs separated from tip by 1–5 mm, on distal 1/10–1/3 of leaf axis, largest leaflets obovate to oblanceolate, 0.5–1.5 × 0.3–1.2 cm, ± whole margin incised 1/2–3/4 to midvein, teeth 2–4 (–5) per side, separate to overlapping, 1–4 mm, surfaces ± dissimilar, abaxial grayish green to white, straight hairs abundant, 1–1.5 mm, cottony and crisped hairs sparse to dense, rarely absent, glands sparse or obscured, adaxial green to grayish, straight hairs sparse to abundant, 1–2 mm, cottony hairs absent or rarely sparse, crisped hairs absent or sparse, glands ± sparse. Cauline leaves 0–1 (–2). Inflorescences (1–) 2–5 (–10) -flowered. Pedicels 0.5–1.5 cm (proximal to 2.5 cm). Flowers: epicalyx bractlets ± ovate-elliptic, 2–4 × 1–1.5 mm; sepals 3.5–5 mm, apex bluntly acute; petals 4–6 (–8) × 4–7 mm; filaments 0.5–2 mm, anthers 0.5 mm; carpels 10–20+, styles columnar-filiform, papillate-swollen at base, if at all, 0.8–1.5 mm. Achenes 1.5 mm.


Phenology: Flowering summer.
Habitat: Alpine tundra and meadows, rocky slopes, talus
Elevation: 3200–4100 m

Discussion

Potentilla saximontana is a small plant of very high elevations in the mountains of Colorado, the La Sal and Uinta mountains of Utah, and the Absaroka and Beartooth mountains of Wyoming and Montana. Although sometimes confused with P. rubricaulis (for example, W. A. Weber and R. C. Wittman 1996), the subpinnate leaves, open few-flowered inflorescences, and columnar-filiform styles make P. saximontana a distinct species.

The lectotype of Potentilla nivea Linnaeus var. dissecta S. Watson [= P. saximontana var. dissecta (S. Watson) Soják] has been tentatively included in P. saximontana (B. Ertter 2008), but P. saximontana is not otherwise known from the Canadian Rockies. See B. Ertter et al. (2013) for additional discussion.

The combination Potentilla rubripes Rydberg var. saximontana (Rydberg) Th. Wolf is incorrect, in that P. saximontana is the older name.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"thin" is not a number."dm" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property."-3timesbasalleaves" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property."dm" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property."dm" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

... more about "Potentilla saximontana"
grayish green +  and white +
green +  and grayish +
proximal +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (?) +
Barbara Ertter +
Rydberg +
subpalmate +  and pinnate +
4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br /> (7 cm70 mm <br />0.07 m <br />) +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
Subjugae +
25 cm250 mm <br />0.25 m <br /> (30 cm300 mm <br />0.3 m <br />) +
less cordate or reniform +  and narrowly elliptic +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (25 cm250 mm <br />0.25 m <br />) +
coriaceous +
reduced +
free +  and distinct +
hairy +  and glabrous +
Rocky Mountains cinquefoil +
Colo. +, Mont. +, Utah +  and Wyo. +
not +  and aggregated +
3200–4100 m +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
unisexual +  and bisexual +
not +  and aggregated +
deciduous +
on style scar +, hairy +  and glabrous +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.26 cm2.6 mm <br />0.0026 m <br />) +
crisped +
Alpine tundra and meadows, rocky slopes, talus +
stoloniferous +  and short-rhizomatous +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
straight +
sparse +  and dense +
weak +  and more or less stiff +
appressed +  and spreading +
sparse +  and abundant +
crisped +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
0.5mm;2.5mm +
turbinate +, patelliform +  and cupulate +
(1-)2-5(-10)-flowered +
crassinucellate +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
obovate +  and oblanceolate +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
bipinnate +, odd-pinnate +, subpalmate +, palmate +  and ternate +
opposite +  and alternate +
marcescent +
well-developed +
persistent +
cauline +  and basal +
reduced +
oblanceolate-oblong +  and obovate +
linear +  and oblanceolate +
palmate +  and pinnate +
1/2 (?) +  and 3/4 (?) +
inferior +  and superior +
clustered +, biseriate +  and superposed +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
free +  and distinct +
obcordate +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
Flowering summer. +
adnate +, free +, connate +  and distinct +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (14 cm140 mm <br />0.14 m <br />) +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
Bull. Torrey Bot. Club +
not arillate +
persistent +
free +  and distinct +
erect +  and spreading +
lanceolate +  and broadly ovate or deltate +
0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
free +  and distinct +
not rooting +
reddish +  and green +
ascending +  and nearly erect +
1 +  and many +
not flagelliform +
palmate +  and pinnate +
linear;ovate +
deciduous +
distinct +
subapical +
papillate-swollen +  and columnar-filiform +
rough-thickened +
0.08 cm0.8 mm <br />8.0e-4 m <br /> (0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br />) +
not fleshy-thickened +
Potentilla saximontana +
Potentilla sect. Subjugae +
species +
1 +  and 2 +
separate;overlapping +
2 (?) +  and 4 (?) +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
inconspicuous +
enlarged +
biennial +, annual +  and perennial +
herb +  and matted +