Sulfur Cinquefoil

Sulfur Cinquefoil

Pontentilla recta

Colorado List B - Eradication required in parts of Jefferson County

Information Sheet (pdf)

Eradication Zone Map (pdf)

General

• Family: Rosaceae (Rose)
• Introduced from Europe
• Perennial forb

Habitat

• Found in pastures, rangelands, roadsides, grasslands, shrubby areas,  open forest and logged areas, waste areas and other disturbed sites
• May live 20-plus years

Plant

 
Vegetation

• Leaf stalks and stems have perpendicular hairs; hairs may not remain on older plants
• Leaves have 5 to 7 leaflets shaped like a palm; green on top and bottom with toothed edges
• Mature plants grow up to 3 feet tall
• Single to multiple stems grow from a root crown
• Very few basal leaves, but stems have many leaves

Roots

• Tap root and shallow spreading roots

Flower

• Color: pale yellow
• Five heart-shaped petals with five green sepals and five bracts below
• One to several flowering stems, branched at the inflorescence, with a  central stalk and two opposite branches at each node forming a somewhat  flat-topped group
• Season: May to July
• Size: 3/4 to 1 inch wide

Seed

• Seeds are brown, small, comma-shaped and covered with net-like veins

Reproduction

• Seed.  Regrows from root crown.

Control

Biological

• None

Chemical

• View Information Sheet (PDF)
• Use all chemicals according to the manufacturer's label. No specific recommendation or endorsement is made or implied by listing methods or products.

Cultural

• Prevention – maintain health of site using good grazing management and keeping good cover
• Removal of young plants

Mechanical

• Burning - Not recommended
• Grazing - Not effective; animals avoid grazing because the plant contains tannins; overgrazing allows plants to spread
• Mowing - Not recommended

More Information

• Colorado Department of Agriculture