Marsh Cinquefoil
Marsh cinquefoil (Comarum palustre) is a shrubby perennial that grows from rhizomes in wetland areas.
- Long, creeping rhizomes are sometimes woody and spread horizontally, often on the water.
- Reddish stems grow vertically and horizontally.
- Branches have alternate green hairy jagged leaflets.
- Reddish or purple-red flowers bloom in clusters at the ends of stems
- All photos by the author. Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.
- Many brown-purple achenes form after flowering. Seeds are dispersed with waves and winds and seeds settle into muddy shores. Seeds require chilling/freezing to germinate in the spring.
- Marsh cinquefoil flowers in summer, forms fruits over summer and early fall, and the upper part of the plant dies back over winter.
- May be called purple marshlocks, swamp cinquefoil, and Potentilla palustris and it is a member of the rose family.
- Marsh cinquefoil is found in abundance along marshy lakeshores across our region.