"Shrubby fivefingers "

Description

Sibbaldiopsis tridentata is the only species of the plant genus Sibbaldiopsis within therose family (Rosaceae). Sibbaldiopsis tridentata is a shrub like species that forms mats with creeping trunks and reaches heights of 5 to 30 centimeters. The dark green leaves are pinnate in threes, the leaflets are 1 to 3 centimeters long, wedge-shaped or inverted wedge-shaped, entire, but tridentate at the tip. The flowering period extends from May to June. The inflorescence is an open cyme. The hermaphrodite flower is fivefold. The sepals are triangular-ovate to ovate. The five petals are 5.5 to 7 millimeters long, white and rounded. The stamens are in three rows. The style is filiform. The hairy achene is about 2 millimeters long. The chromosome number is 2n = 28. Sibbaldiopsis is a genus in the plant family Rosaceae. This genus only contains a single species: Sibbaldiopsis tridentata, formerly Potentilla tridentata. Commonly, its names include three-toothed cinquefoil,shrubby fivefingers, and wineleaf Systemic phylogenetic work has placed S. tridentata within Sibbaldia as Sibbaldia retusa. Sibbaldiopsis tridentata was first described by William Aiton, but later corrected by Per Axel Rydberg. The species had been called Potentilla tridentata, but because of genetic analysis, it was discovered that the plant was closer to the boreal species Sibbaldia procumbens, and was placed in its own genus. The genus name Sibbaldiopsis comes from Sibbaldia and the suffix -opsis, meaning "resembling". Sibbaldiopsis tridentata has sometimes been cited as Potentilla retusa, as it is much older, despite having yellow flowers. In addition, poor specimes of Sibbaldiopsis tridentata resemble Sibbaldia procumbens more than Sibbaldiopsis tridentata itself. Sibbaldiopsis tridentata prefers dry and acidic soil, usually on rocky or gravelly shores that have access to a lot of sun. It is often found on shale outcrops. The species is located all over the central to eastern American states, with disjunct populations extending down the Appalachian Mountains. The species also lives in the Canadian provinces east of and including Alberta, as well as Greenland. In Nova Scotia, the species is very common in the center of the Annapolis Valley and around cliffs or rocky outcrops. The southernmost known populations are located in Georgia and North Carolina, and occupy high-elevation rock outcrops and grassy balds.