Bearded Cinquefoil

Potentilla crinita A. Gray, Mem. Am. Acad. II. 4: 41. 1849
Perennial, with a short cespitose caudex ; stems several, ascending, 2-3 dm. high, often diffusely few-branched, silky-pilose; stipules 1-2 cm. long, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, subentire; basal leaves many, short-petioled, pinnate, silkyvillous (pubescence projecting far beyond the tips of the leaves), nearly glabrous on the upper surface ; leaflets 11-15, approximate, cuneate, 1.5-2 cm. long, toothed at the apex, generally remaining conduplicate ; stem-leaves few, small, 3-5-foliolate ; bractlets lanceolate, acute, a little shorter than the ovate-lanceolate acute sepals, which are about 4 mm. long ; petals obovate, deeply retuse, exceeding the calyx ; stamens about 20 ; pistils many ; styles filiform.
Type locality : Along Santa F£ Creek [New Mexico] .
Distribution : Dry places from Colorado and Utah to New Mexico and Arizona.