je9h's Favorites

In the habitat view /last photo, these are the plants by the corner of the pond that are on the left, a bit shorter and with stems more orange in colour.

Same shrub in June:
https://inaturalist.ca/observations/122651244

A very tall shrub. Bud scales appear to be persistent.
ID TBV over the course of the season.

Same tree in early May:
https://inaturalist.ca/observations/115243524

Same tree in mid-June:
https://inaturalist.ca/observations/122404102

Photo 2 is a crop to show just the P. bipinnatifida.
Photo 3 is the whole photo showing how this P. bipinnatifida plant was growing right with a P. pulcherrima plant (palmate bicolour shallowly-toothed leaves).

According to Flora of N. America there are two varieties of P. gracilis present in Alberta:

var. fastigiata, with
---upper and lower leaf surfaces more or less similar in colour,
---cottony hairs usually absent,
---palmate leaves with leaflets 5-7-9 in number,
---leaflet teeth measuring up to 10 mm long on the distal edge,
---undivided medial blade measuring up to 20 mm wide

&

var. flabelliformis, with
---upper and lower leaf surfaces strongly dissimilar in colour,
---cottony hairs dense on lower leaf surface
---palmate leaves with leaflets 5 or 7
---leaflet teeth measuring up to 20 mm long on the distal edge (or even occasionally to 35 mm),
---undivided medial blade narrow, measuring only 3-6 mm wide

In the new Vascular Flora of Alberta: An Illustrated Guide, by Kershaw and Allen (I have the Feb. 2022 printing), P. gracilis var. fastigiata drops out at couplet 41b, and P. gracilis var. flabelliformis drops out at couplet 40a, both being called "Potentilla gracilis (in part)".

Here is the FNA key to split the varieties, with links to variety descriptions:
http://floranorthamerica.org/Potentilla_gracilis

The reason I go to all this detail myself is because I'm trying to differentiate P. gracilis from P. pulcherrima (see my Profile Page for notes on this project).

Pretty much everywhere you go in AB you will find Potentillas that don't quite fit into the keys, because they are hybrids. So my focus is on the correct forms, and I only make note of the oddballs :-)

According to Flora of N. America there are two varieties of P. gracilis present in Alberta:

var. fastigiata, with
---upper and lower leaf surfaces more or less similar in colour,
---cottony hairs usually absent,
---palmate leaves with leaflets 5-7-9 in number,
---leaflet teeth measuring up to 10 mm long on the distal edge,
---undivided medial blade measuring up to 20 mm wide

&

var. flabelliformis, with
---upper and lower leaf surfaces strongly dissimilar in colour,
---cottony hairs dense on lower leaf surface
---palmate leaves with leaflets 5 or 7
---leaflet teeth measuring up to 20 mm long on the distal edge (or even occasionally to 35 mm),
---undivided medial blade narrow, measuring only 3-6 mm wide

In the new Vascular Flora of Alberta: An Illustrated Guide, by Kershaw and Allen (I have the Feb. 2022 printing), P. gracilis var. fastigiata drops out at couplet 41b, and P. gracilis var. flabelliformis drops out at couplet 40a, both being called "Potentilla gracilis (in part)".

Here is the FNA key to split the varieties, with links to variety descriptions:
http://floranorthamerica.org/Potentilla_gracilis

The reason I go to all this detail myself is because I'm trying to differentiate P. gracilis from P. pulcherrima (see my Profile Page for notes on this project).

Pretty much everywhere you go in AB you will find Potentillas that don't quite fit into the keys, because they are hybrids. So my focus is on the correct forms, and I only make note of the oddballs :-)

Collected by permit.

According to Flora of N. America there are two varieties of P. gracilis present in Alberta:

var. fastigiata, with
---upper and lower leaf surfaces more or less similar in colour,
---cottony hairs usually absent,
---palmate leaves with leaflets 5-7-9 in number,
---leaflet teeth measuring up to 10 mm long on the distal edge,
---undivided medial blade measuring up to 20 mm wide

&

var. flabelliformis, with
---upper and lower leaf surfaces strongly dissimilar in colour,
---cottony hairs dense on lower leaf surface
---palmate leaves with leaflets 5 or 7
---leaflet teeth measuring up to 20 mm long on the distal edge (or even occasionally to 35 mm),
---undivided medial blade narrow, measuring only 3-6 mm wide

In the new Vascular Flora of Alberta: An Illustrated Guide, by Kershaw and Allen (I have the Feb. 2022 printing), P. gracilis var. fastigiata drops out at couplet 41b, and P. gracilis var. flabelliformis drops out at couplet 40a, both being called "Potentilla gracilis (in part)".

Here is the FNA key to split the varieties, with links to variety descriptions:
http://floranorthamerica.org/Potentilla_gracilis

The reason I go to all this detail myself is because I'm trying to differentiate P. gracilis from P. pulcherrima (see my Profile Page for notes on this project).

Pretty much everywhere you go in AB you will find Potentillas that don't quite fit into the keys, because they are hybrids. So my focus is on the correct forms, and I only make note of the oddballs :-)