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Montana Field Guide

Montana Field Guides

Tall Cinquefoil - Drymocallis arguta
Other Names:  Potentilla arguta, Drymocallis convallaria

Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S4
C-value: 4


Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:


 

External Links






 
General Description
Perennial from a simple or branched caudex. Stems erect, brown-hirsute and glandular, 25–80 cm. Leaf blades oblong, 6–12 cm long, pinnately divided into 5 to 9 obovate, shallowly lobed, sparsely hairy leaflets. Inflorescence a narrow, stiffly erect, flat-topped, glandular-hairy cyme. Flowers: sepals ovate, 6–7 mm long; bracteoles narrower and shorter; petals white to pale yellow,7–9 mm long. Achenes smooth, ca. 1 mm long (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Lesica (2012) treats this species in the genus Drymocallis.

Diagnostic Characteristics
In general, species of Drymocallis and Potentilla can be difficult to identify across their specific ranges because many characteristics are continuous. Variation comes from localized ecotypes, polyploidy genes, hybridization, asexual reproduction without fertilization (apomixis), and/or other sources.

Drymocallis arguta - Tall Cinquefoil
*Basal leaves typically with 2-5 leaflet pairs.
*Stem leaves typically with 1-4 leaflet pairs.
*May have somewhat smaller flowers that open widely when compared to Drymocallis fissa.
*Relatively congested inflorescence and lateral branches that are erect or strongly ascending when compared to Drymocallis glandulosa
*Anthers 1 mm or less long.

Drymocallis glandulosa - Sticky Cinquefoil
*Basal leaflets typically with 2-5 leaflet pairs.
*Stem leaves typically with 1-4 leaflet pairs.
*Relatively smaller flowers that open widely when compared to Drymocallis fissa.
*Relatively open inflorescence and ascending to spreading lateral branches when compared to Drymocallis arguta
*Anthers 1 mm or less long.

Drymocallis fissa - Big-flower Cinquefoil, NOT documented in Montana.
Plants have all of the following characteristics:
*Basal leaves with relatively numerous leaflets (usually 5-6 leaflet pairs), often with additional small ones;
*Stem leaves with 4-6 pairs of leaflets.
*Stem leaves typically with 4-6 leaflet pairs.
*Inflorescence is congested to more-or-less open.
*Large flowers that also open widely;
*Large, elongated anthers, 1-1.4 mm; and
*Thick styles, about 1 mm wide.

Species Range
Montana Range Range Descriptions

Native
 


Range Comments
BC to QC south to NV, AZ, NM, MO and NJ (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 281

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density

Recency

 

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)



Habitat
Grasslands, steppe, dry meadows, thickets, woodlands; plains, valleys, montane (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).)

References
  • Literature Cited AboveLegend:   View Online Publication
    • Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. (FNA). 2014. Flora of North America North of Mexico. Vol. 9. Magnoliophyta: Picramniaceae to Rosaceae. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc. 752 pp.
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View Online Publication
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    • Aho, Ken Andrew. 2006. Alpine and Cliff Ecosystems in the North-Central Rocky Mountains. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 343 p.
    • Ament, R.J. 1995. Pioneer Plant Communities Five Years After the 1988 Yellowstone Fires. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 216 p.
    • Conway, T.M. 1982. Response of understory vegetation to varied lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) spacing intervals in Western Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bpzeman, MT: Montana State University. 76 p.
    • Culver, D.R. 1994. Floristic analysis of the Centennial Region, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Montana State University, Bozeman. 199 pp.
    • Jones, W. W. 1901. Preliminary flora of Gallatin County. M.S. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State College. 78 pp.
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
    • Martinka, R.R. 1970. Structural characteristics and ecological relationships of male blue grouse (Dendragapus obscurus (Say)) territories in southwestern Montana. Ph.D Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 73 p.
    • Meier, G.A. 1997. The colonization of Montana roadsides by native and exotic plants. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 45 p.
    • Plaggemeyer, J.B. 1995. Effects of overstory thinning on lodgepole pine understories. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 55 p.
    • Quire, R.L. 2013. The sagebrush steppe of Montana and southeastern Idaho shows evidence of high native plant diversity, stability, and resistance to the detrimental effects of nonnative plant species. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 124 p.
    • Wood, A.K. 1987. Ecology of a prairie mule deer population. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 205 p.
  • Web Search Engines for Articles on "Tall Cinquefoil"
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Citation for data on this website:
Tall Cinquefoil — Drymocallis arguta.  Montana Field Guide.  .  Retrieved on , from