Potentilla paradoxa

HABIT: Decumbent to ascending, much-branched, herbaceous annual to short-lived perennial, 2-5 dm.; flowering late May-September; fruiting July- October.

SIMILAR SPECIES: P. paradoxa is easily distinguished from other pinnate-leaved cinquefoils by the much-branched, many flowered, leafy inflorescence, the coarsely toothed leaflets and the presence of a large corky thickening on the inner ridge of the achenes.

TOTAL RANGE: Ont. to B.C., s. to w. NY, ne. PA, OH, IL, MO, LA, KS, NM, & WA.

STATE RANGE: This species apparently is restricted in Ohio to those counties along Lake Erie. There are post-1960 collections from Ashtabula, Erie, Lucas, and Ottawa counties, and pre-1960 specimens from Lake and Lorain.

STATE STATUS: 1980 to present: Threatened.

HABITAT: Moist or wet soil in full sun; riverbanks, lake and pond shores, sandbars, low fields.

HAZARDS: Drying of the habitat, sudden alterations in water level, soil compaction, overshading by woody species through succession.

RECOVERY POTENTIAL: Unknown; possibly very good due to its somewhat weedy nature. It is known from fairly disturbed sites.

INVENTORY GUIDELINES: Collect mature fruiting or flowering material.

COMMENTS: P. paradoxa should be sought throughout the Lake Erie basin. It is probably more frequent than the records indicate, possibly overlooked because of its generally nondescript appearance. Also, size of populations fluctuates markedly from year to year.

Some authors merge the genera Fragaria and Potentilla. Asker (1971) discusses this taxonomic situation.

SELECTED REFERENCES:

Asker, S. 1971. Some viewpoints on Fragaria X Potentilla intergeneric hybridization. Hereditas 67: 181-190.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Division of Natural Areas and Preserves

Created: 12/1981 David P. Emmitt, Allison W. Cusick

Database Code: SPLC.854