[amazon_link asins=’1780972423,B00F8FA6ZG,1556433263,1556434308,1602201218,0939616645,B01M0AKE0Q,1591201322,147815845X’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’525d5bd6-937b-11e7-b8bc-25f37db61539′]
Botanical Name: Potentilla fragarioides
Family: Rosaceae
Subfamily: Rosoideae
Genus: Potentilla
Species: P. fragarioides
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Rosales
Habitat : Potentilla fragarioides is native to China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Russia. It grows on sunny slopes and waste ground in lowland and mountains all over Japan. Bank of field, ditches, meadows, thickets and thinned forest at elevations of 350 – 2400 metres in northern China.
Description:
Potentilla fragarioides is a perennial herb, growing to 0.3 m (1ft). Roots numerous. Flowering stems tufted, ascending or spreading, 8–25 cm, together with petioles spreading villous. Radical leaves 5–22 cm including petiole; stipules brown, membranous, abaxially sparsely spreading villous; leaf blade pinnate with 2 or 3(or 4) pairs of leaflets; leaflets at intervals of 0.8–1.5 cm, shortly petiolulate or subsessile, green on both surfaces, obovate, elliptic, or oblong-elliptic, 0.5–7 × 0.4–3 cm, both surfaces appressed pilose, abaxially more densely so on veins, sometimes densely ciliate on teeth, base cuneate or broadly so, margin obtusely or acutely many serrate but entire near base, apex obtuse or acute; cauline leaves: stipules green, ovate, herbaceous, abaxially spreading pilose, margin entire, apex acute; petiole very short or almost absent; leaf blade usually 3-foliolate; leaflets resembling those of radical leaves, or oblong, margin entire proximally, and apex serrate. Inflorescence terminal, laxly corymbose-cymose, many flowered. Flowers 1–1.7 cm in diam.; pedicel slender, 1.5–2 cm, pilose. Sepals triangular-ovate, apex acute to acuminate; epicalyx segments oblong-lanceolate, slightly shorter than sepals, apex acute. Petals yellow, obovate, apex rounded or emarginate. Style subterminal, thin at base, thickened distally. Mature achenes subreniform, ca. 1 mm in diam., rugose. It is in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen from Jul to September.
CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES
The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.The plant is self-fertile.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Cultivation:
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in most parts of the country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Easily grown in a well-drained loam, preferring a position in full sun but tolerating shade. Prefers an alkaline soil but tolerates a slightly acid soil. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.
Propagation:
Seed – sow early spring or autumn in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in spring. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer.
Edible Uses:….Leaf stem – boiled & eaten.
Medicinal Uses
Astringent.
The leaves are astringent. The compound D-catechin has been isolated from the plant and is used in cases of gynaecological bleeding.
The stem is boiled for use as a hemostatic in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potentilla_fragarioides
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200011062
http://www.pfaf.org/User/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Potentilla+fragarioides
