Potentilla reptans

Potentilla reptans, known as the creeping cinquefoil,^[1] European cinquefoil or creeping tormentil, is a flowering plant in the family Rosaceae.

Potentilla reptans
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Rosaceae
Genus:	Potentilla
Species:	P. reptans
Binomial name
Potentilla reptans L.

A creeping perennial plant native to Eurasia and Northern Africa, Potentilla reptans has been naturalized elsewhere.^[2] Its trailing stems root at the nodes, and leaves are on long stalks. The plant blooms between June and August with yellow flowers that are about 2 cm in diameter and have five heart-shaped petals. P. reptans, which can be easily confused with silverweed, often grows in crushed masonry in the South of England. The grizzled skipper butterfly favors the plant.

Alcoholic extracts from roots of Potentilla reptans showed a moderate antimicrobial activity against common wound pathogens.^[3]

Potentilla reptans can be an invasive weed in lawns and flowerbeds and difficult to eradicate, particularly when it competes with and infests established groundcovers. All of the taproots must be dug up, or the plant will reappear.

References

1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Potentilla reptans​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
2. "Potentilla reptans". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
3. Watkins F, Pendry B, Sanchez-Medina A, Corcoran O (November 2012). "Antimicrobial assays of three native British plants used in Anglo-Saxon medicine for wound healing formulations in 10th century England" (PDF). J Ethnopharmacol. 144 (2): 408–15. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2012.09.031. PMID 23026307.