Cinquefoil

Cinquefoil, common name for any of various hardy annual and perennial five-fingered plants and shrubs of the rose family, found in northern temperate and frigid regions of the world. Growing to a height of 61 cm (24 in), the plants generally have five small leaves clustered in a circle and bear yellow or white five-petaled flowers. The shrubby cinquefoil and the silverweed grow as wild flowers in western and northeastern North America. Cinquefoils are frequently cultivated in rock gardens.

In architecture, the term cinquefoil is applied to five-lobed rosettes, commonly seen in Gothic tracery.

Scientific classification: Cinquefoils belong to the family Rosaceae. The shrubby cinquefoil is classified as Potentilla fruticosa, the silverweed as Potentilla anserina.