Tormentil

Potentilla erecta

Plant Data

Order:

Rosales

Family:

Rosaceae (Rose)

Type:

Flower

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Flower:

Yellow, 4 petals

Rather like a 4 petalled buttercup but with slightly notched petals. The yellow flowers are also similar in appearance to Cinquefoils and Silverweed, except they have 4 petals and not 5.

Fruit:

A greyish-brown, ridged achene (type of seed).

Leaves:

A sprawling plant with compound leaves, having between 3 and 5 leaflets. The two leaflets at the base are stipules. The leaves are arranged alternate along the stems. The leaflets are egg-shaped and deeply toothed.

Maximum Size:

45 centimetres tall

Foraging Notes:

The roots can be cooked and eaten but are high in tannins.
Never consume a wild plant unless you are 100% certain that it is safe to eat and you know that you have identified it correctly.

Other Names:

Biscuits, Bloodroot, Common Cinquefoil, Earthbank, English Sarsaparilla, Erect Cinquefoil, Ewe Daisy, Flesh and Blood, Septfoil, Shepherd's Knapperty, Shepherd's Knot, Thormantle, Tormentilla.

Frequency (UK):

Common

Habitats:

Bogs, farmland, fens, grassland, heathland, lawns, meadows, moorland, mountains, roadsides, sand dunes, scrub, swamps, woodland.

Similar Species:

Creeping Cinquefoil