Weed Information: Dasiphora fruticosa (cinquefoil, shrubby)
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Dasiphora fruticosa (cinquefoil, shrubby)

Family: Rosaceae

Description

A commonly planted ornamental shrub that tends to both persist and spread. Although both white and orange flowered forms have been cultivated, the yellow flowered forms are far more common. Formerly named Potentilla fruticosa, this species was moved to a new genus partly due to its woody habit, but the name `cinquefoil,` usually reserved for Potentilla, still applies.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Orange
  • Yellow-orange
  • Yellow
  • White
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Cyme (simple or branched)
  • Solitary, axillary
Number of Petals
  • 5 petals
Petal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Petal Tip
  • Rounded
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 1.5 cm (.60 inch)
  • 2.0 cm (.80 inch)
  • 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
  • 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)
  • 3.5 cm (1.4 inches)
Number of Sepals
  • 5 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • United from 25% - 75% length
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • More than 10 styles
Number of Stamens
  • more than 10 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels separated
Number of Carpels
  • 10 carpels
  • >10 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Achene
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Alternate
Leaf Type
  • Compound even pinnate < 9 leaflets
  • Trifoliolate (3 leaflets)
Stipules
  • Scarious
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
  • Petiole < 25% total length
  • Petiole 25% - 75% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
Leaf Width
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Entire
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acuminate (attenuate)
  • Acute
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Sericeous or villous (silky)
  • Villous or sericious (silky)
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Woody
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Perennial
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Erect, spherical (bushy)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
  • 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
  • 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
  • 1 - 1.5 meters (3.3 - 5.0 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Mesic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Fibrous
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Connecticut
  • Illinois
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • North Carolina
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • Wisconsin
  • Indiana
  • Vermont
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Iowa
  • Idaho
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • North Dakota
  • New Mexico
  • Nevada
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Alberta
  • Manitoba
  • Newfoundland
  • Saskatchewan
  • Yukon
  • Nunavut
  • Northwest Territory
Other
  • St. Pierre and Miquelon
  • Labrador

  • Common Weeds of the Canadian Prairies, 1963 (Cat# A53-1136-1) See page: 53
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 269, 272
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
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