Potentilla fruticosa

'Shrubby Cinquefoil'

[Ex. Teesdale, 310m., England]

Rosaceae: a deciduous, downy shrub to 1m. Favours damp, rocky ground and river banks, usually on basic soils. The flowers are 2cm across, with 5 yellow petals, in clusters, blooming from May-July. The leaves are greyish green, pinnately divided into 3 or 5 untoothed leaflets. Rare, native to Teesdale, Lake District and Western Ireland only. Native to Europe, including Britain, from Sweden south and east to the Pyrenees, Northern and Central Asia to Japan.

USES:

A tea is made from the dried leaves and used as a substitute for China tea, especially by people living at high elevations in the Himalayas.

The leaves have astringent properties. The juice of the root is used in the treatment of indigestion.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Rapidly germinating, keep seed in constant moisture (not wet) with temperatures of about +20°C. Seeds must be covered thinly. Do not cover very small seeds, but tightly press into the earth. A perennial herb of dry, freely-draining, gravelly or sandy soils, in full sun.

HARVESTED: 2021*

APPROX. 30 SEEDS