Herb: Woolly Cinquefoil


Latin name: Potentilla hippiana


Synonyms: Potentilla effusa, Potentilla leneophylla, Potentilla leucophylla


Family: Rosaceae (Rose Family)



Medicinal use of Woolly Cinquefoil:

The whole plant is oxytocic, poultice and salve. An infusion of the plant has been used to expedite childbirth. The plant has been used as a lotion on burns and a poultice of the fresh leaves applied to injury. The plant is dried, powdered and applied to sores.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
60 cm
(2 feet)

Flowering:
July to
August

Habitat of the herb:

Dry soils. Open grassland sagebrush, often on saline soils, to juniper scabland and pine forests of the foothills and lower elevations in the mountains.

Propagation of Woolly Cinquefoil:

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.

Cultivation of the herb:

Dry soils. Open grassland sagebrush, often on saline soils, to juniper scabland and pine forests of the foothills and lower elevations in the mountains.

Known hazards of Potentilla hippiana:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.