Sibbaldiopsis tridentata (Three-toothed cinquefoil)

Sibbaldiopsis tridentata (Aiton) Rydb.

Potentilla tridentata

Potentilla retusa O.F. Müll. nom. utique rej.

Sibbaldia tridentata (Aiton) Paule & Soják

Potentilla tridentata Aiton

Three-toothed cinquefoil

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Rosales	Rose family and eight others
Family	Rosaceae	Includes apples, apricots, plums, cherries, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries, almonds, roses, meadowsweets, photinias, firethorns, rowans, and hawthorns; many others
Genus	Sibbaldiopsis	From Sibbaldia, for Sir Robert Sibbald (1641-1722), Scottish physician and antiquary; and the suffix -opsis, “resembling”
Species	tridentata	Three-toothed

About plant names...

Three-toothed cinquefoil is a diminutive evergreen plant with a fondness for acid soils and alpine and subalpine habitats: cliffs, ledges, grasses, meadows and fields. All the photos here, at least when I wrote this article, were found on mountains. It is a North American native.

Plants: Plants form low, evergeen mats, 1-8" (2.5-20 cm) tall. Lower stems are woody and gray, while upper stems are light green to red in color.

Leaves: Leaves are alternate and elliptic. Each leaf is comprised of three leaflets arranged in a palmate (palm-like) cluster. Each leaflet is up to 1½" (3.8 cm) × ½" (1.3 cm), with three teeth at the end. It is glossy dark green on top, and light green beneath. Lower leaves are attached via stems, while upper leaves may be directly attached. In sunny areas, leaves turn deep red in the fall.

Flowers: White, ¼-½" (8.4-12 mm) around, with 5 petals and 5 pale green sepals between. Flowers often appear in dense clusters. Petals are oval or egg-shaped, and often wrinkly. An exhuberant spray of stamens almost as long as the petals explodes from the center. Flowers appear from June to August.

Fruits: The sepals at the base of each flower dry up, folding around the developing tiny seeds.

Online References:

Sibbaldiopsis tridentata at Illinois Wildflowers

Sibbaldiopsis tridentata at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Sibbaldiopsis tridentata at Minnesota Wildflowers

Sibbaldiopsis tridentata on gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org

Sibbaldiopsis tridentata on the Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site