European Cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans L.)
Also known as creeping cinquefoil, creeping tormentil, creeping five-fingers.
↑Summary
A creeping perennial introduced at scattered sites across North America, invasive in places, preferring near-neutral pH.
↑Range - Expand
| Legend | Color |
| Introduced | |
| Introduced or Not Present |
This tentative map is based on our own research. It may have limited data on Canada and/or Mexico, and there is some subjectivity in our assignment of plants as introduced vs. expanded. Read more in this blog post.
Although this plant occurs somewhere in each of these regions, it may only occur in a small part of some or all of them.
↑Similar Plants
↑Notes
We prefer the common name "European Cinquefoil" to "creeping cinquefoil" as the two most commonly-confused native cinquefoils, dwarf cinquefoil (Potentilla canadensis) and common cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex), both also have a creeping habit, so that descriptor can be confusing or ambiguous, whereas the descriptor "European" accurately communicates that this species is native to Europe (and introduced in North America.)
↑Links & External Resources
• Potentilla reptans (creeping cinquefoil) | USDA PLANTS Database (About This Site)
• Potentilla reptans | Go Botany (About This Site)
• Potentilla reptans (sulfur cinquefoil) | CABI Invasive Species Compendium (About This Site)
• Potentilla reptans | Biota of North America Project (BONAP) (About This Site)
• Potentilla reptans | NatureServe Explorer (About This Site)
• Potentilla reptans | Flora of North America (About This Site)
• Creeping Cinquefoil | Maryland Biodiversity Project (About This Site)
• Potentilla reptans L. (Creeping Cinquefoil, European Cinquefoil) | Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (About This Site)
↑Photo gallery
