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Rock Cinquefoil

Drymocallis rupestris

Photograph taken by Nahhan

Close up image showing the delicate Rock Cinquefoil with it's five white petals and yellow centre. The flowers stands out against a blurred background with it's stem and leaves partially visible.

How to Identify Rock Cinquefoil?

FlowersWhite
SeasonSummer
MonthsMay to June
StatusEndangered
PetalsFive

 

Photograph an array of Rock Cinquefoil growing in the wild. The pretty wildflower is shown here growing in a cluster with lots of white flowers in the foreground and background.

How to Spot Rock Cinquefoil?

Rock Cinquefoil is part of the Potentilla genus, which contains more than 500 species of flowering plants in the rose family (Rosaceae). They are commonly called cinquefoil. They typically look similar to strawberry plants but differ with their fruits usually being dry and their seeds – each being technically a single fruit are actually tiny nuts.

Where to Spot Rock Cinquefoil?

It can be found in only a handful of sites across Britain, and populations are small. A species recovery project taking place in Wales at Criggion Quarry, Montgomeryshire has bolstered populations by collecting seeds and using transplants as part of their ongoing quarry restoration plan.

Native in Britain, but it is a rare native flower in the wild, it can only be found in two locations in Scotland and three in Mid-Wales, and one of the sites in Wales is thought to be an introduction.

Facts about Rock Cinquefoil

The Genus name ‘Potentilla’ comes from the Latin ‘potens’, meaning ‘powerful’ in reference to the reputed medicinal properties of the plant. It was first described by Linnaeus in 1753. The genus is said to have been used in both medicine and magic since the time of Hippocrates.

It’s species name ‘rupestris’ comes from the Latin word for rock, ‘rupes’, meaning it lives on cliffs or rocks.

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