''Sibbaldia tridentata'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in the plant family

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus '' Rosa''. The family includes herbs, shrubs, and trees. Most species are deciduous, but som ...

. Its

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

include the

illegitimate name ''Nomen illegitimum'' (Latin for illegitimate name) is a technical term used mainly in botany. It is usually abbreviated as ''nom. illeg.'' Although the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants uses Latin terms as qualif ...

''Sibbaldia retusa'' and ''Sibbaldiopsis tridentata''. Under the latter name, it has been treated as the only species in the genus ''Sibbaldiopsis''. Its English names include three-toothed cinquefoil, shrubby fivefingers, and wineleaf.

Description

''Sibbaldia tridentata'' is a short evergreen perennial plant, growing up to . Its leaves are compound and trifoliate, usually growing at the base in an alternating pattern, each leaflet growing up to long and across. The leaflets are oblanceolate with a truncated tip having three teeth. The leaves are glossy and evergreen. They turn deep red in fall if the plants are grown in sun. Its branches are herbaceous and pubescent, but its roots are woody. Its flowers are small and white, radial, and arranged in a compound

bracteate A bracteate (from the Latin ''bractea'', a thin piece of metal) is a flat, thin, single-sided gold medal worn as jewelry that was produced in Northern Europe predominantly during the Migration Period of the Germanic Iron Age (including the Ven ...

cyme, having five sepals and five petals with several stamens and a few pistils. The individual flowers resemble flowers from the genus ''

Potentilla ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 500 species of Annual plant, annual, Biennial plant, biennial and Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants in the rose family (biology), family, Rosaceae. Potentillas m ...

''. Its blooming period lasts two to three months, between June and August. Eventually, the triangular sepals fold up and tiny, hairy brown seeds develop inside them.

Taxonomy

''Sibbaldia tridentata'' was first described by

William Aiton William Aiton (17312 February 1793) was a Scotland, Scottish botanist. Aiton was born near Hamilton, Scotland, Hamilton. Having been regularly trained to the profession of a gardener, he travelled to London in 1754, and became assistant to Phi ...

in 1789 as ''Potentilla tridentata''. The name ''Potentilla retusa'' was published earlier, in 1780, but is a

rejected name A conserved name or ''nomen conservandum'' (plural ''nomina conservanda'', abbreviated as ''nom. cons.'') is a scientific name that has specific nomenclatural protection. That is, the name is retained, even though it violates one or more rules wh ...

(''nom. rej.''), so names based on it, such as ''Sibbaldia retusa'', are also rejected. In 1898, the species was placed in its own genus ''Sibbaldiopsis''. The genus name ''Sibbaldiopsis'' comes from ''Sibbaldia'' and the suffix , meaning "resembling". In 2009, it was transferred to ''

Sibbaldia ''Sibbaldia'' is a genus of flowering plants of the family Rosaceae, with a circumpolar distribution, including the high Arctic. The type species is '' Sibbaldia procumbens''. It is also in the Rosoideae subfamily. The genus name of ''Sibbaldia ...

''. The transfer was supported in 2014, based on

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

evidence, although the authors of the study noted distinct morphological differences from other members of the genus.

Distribution and habitat

''Sibbaldia tridentata'' prefers dry and acidic soil, usually on rocky or gravelly shores that have access to a lot of sun. It is often found on shale outcrops. The species is located all over the central to eastern American states, with disjunct populations extending down the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

. The species also lives in the Canadian provinces east of and including

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, as well as Greenland. In

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, the species is very common in the center of the

Annapolis Valley The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a Trough (geology), trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the B ...

and around cliffs or rocky outcrops. The southernmost known populations are located in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and occupy high-elevation rock outcrops and grassy balds. ''Sibbaldia tridentata'' is listed as endangered in 5 US states.

References

Sources

* * * {{Taxonbar, from1=Q15527517, from2=Q145750 Potentilleae Rosaceae genera Flora of the United States Flora of Canada