Gold-Fingerkraut
Potentilla aurea L.
Do you like roses, silver and gold? Then Golden Cinquefoil is just the thing for you! This small plant, which grows at astonishing altitudes of over 3,000 metres above sea level, belongs to the rose family. The flowers glow a wonderful golden yellow from spring onwards, while the leaf margin of this species is distinctively silvery.
The Golden Cinquefoil grows up to 20 cm high. Its basal leaves usually have five points that are often described as fingers. The leaves bear fine hairs and have a shiny silver margin. The flowers are yellow and often have a distinctive dark yellow spot at the bottom.
Facts and Figures
The distinctive dark yellow spot at the bottom of the petals is particularly attractive to insects. It serves as a sap mark, a kind of yellow signpost that shows the insects the way to the food source.
Territory
The Golden Cinquefoil is found in the Alps and in the mountains of Southern and Central Europe. In Switzerland, it can be found in the Alps, close to the Alps and in the Jura region where it predominantly grows in dry meadows and pastures with low-calcareous soils. On the Gornergrat, it can especially be found on Nardus grassland growing in acidic soil. more information