Potentilla villosa is a species of flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. Its common names include villous cinquefoil, northern cinquefoil,[1] and hairy cinquefoil.[2] It is native to northwestern North America, where its distribution extends from Alaska to Alberta to Oregon.[1] [3] There are records from eastern Asia.[4]
This is a coastal plant.[5] It occurs on coastal bluffs and beaches, and in meadows,[4] tundra, and alpine talus.[6]
This is a rhizomatous perennial herb with a tuft of several hairy to woolly stems growing from a thick base covered in previous seasons' dead foliage. The stems are up to 20[6] to 30[4] centimeters tall. The thick, leathery basal leaves are compound, divided into three veiny, toothed leaflets with woolly to silky-haired undersides. There may be a few leaves higher on the stem which are nearly the same size. The inflorescence bears one to five flowers. The flower has a five-lobed calyx and five bractlets at the base. The bowl-shaped corolla has five notched yellow petals each up to 1.2 centimeters long.[4] Each petal is marked with an orange basal spot.[2] There are usually 20 stamens at the center.[4] Flowering occurs in July through September.[6] The fruit is an achene, borne in clusters.[4]