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cinquefoil
(redirected from Cinquefoils)

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cinquefoil (sĭngk`foil) [O.Fr.,=five leaves], name for any plant of the widely distributed genus Potentilla of the family Rosaceae (rose rose, common name for some members of the Rosaceae, a large family of herbs, shrubs, and trees distributed over most of the earth, and for plants of the genus Rosa, the true roses.
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 family), chiefly herbs of north temperate and subarctic regions. Most cinquefoils are perennial; many but not all of them have leaves of five leaflets, for which they are also called five-finger. The flowers are most often yellow. Most North American species are native to cooler regions of the W United States. The shrubby cinquefoil (P. fruticosa) and the silverweed (P. anserina) are common wildflowers in the West and the Northeast; they are thought to be naturalized from the Old World. These and other species are sometimes cultivated in rock gardens. Silverweed is one of the species reputed to have medicinal powers, hence the Latin name of the genus [potens=powerful]. Cinquefoil is classified in the division Magnoliophyta Magnoliophyta , division of the plant kingdom consisting of those organisms commonly called the flowering plants, or angiosperms. The angiosperms have leaves, stems, and roots, and vascular, or conducting, tissue (xylem and phloem).
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, class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Rosaceae.

cinquefoil

Enlarge picture
Common cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex)
(credit: Arthur W. Ambler from The National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers—EB Inc.)
Any of the approximately 500 species of shrubs and herbaceous plants in the genus Potentilla (rose family). The common name, meaning “five-leaved,” refers to the number of leaflets in the compound leaf of most species. Most species are native to the northern temperate zone and the Arctic and are chiefly perennial. The stems are creeping or erect. The solitary, five-petaled flowers are usually yellow, sometimes white or red in horticultural varieties. P. fruticosa includes many dwarf shrubs used in landscaping (see landscape gardening).


cinquefoil
1. any plant of the N temperate rosaceous genus Potentilla, typically having five-lobed compound leaves
2. an ornamental carving in the form of five arcs arranged in a circle and separated by cusps

cinquefoil
cinquefoil
A five-lobed pattern divided by cusps; also see foil.

cinquefoil
traditional representation of hope. [Flower Symbol-ism and Heraldry: Jobes, 341]
See : Hope

cinquefoil
indicates gladness. [Flower Symbolism and Heraldry: Jobes, 341]
See : Joy

cinquefoil
symbol of motherly love. [Flower Symbolism: Jobes, 341]


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Interestingly, the shrubby cinquefoils (Potentilla) also seem to be avoided by hungry deer.
Some of the more than 50 varieties of Bush Cinquefoils are in flower most of the summer.
 
 
 
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