Snow Cinquefoil

Herbs perennial. Roots terete. Flowering stems erect or ascending, 5–25 cm tall, together with petioles white tomentose. Radical leaves 1.5–8 cm including petiole; stipules brown, membranous, abaxially sparsely pilose or glabrescent; leaf blade 3-foliolate; leaflets sessile or sometimes terminal one shortly petiolulate, ovate, obovate, or elliptic, 1–2 × 0.8–1.3 cm, abaxially white tomentose, inconspicuously veined, adaxially appressed pilose, base rounded or broadly cuneate, margin obtusely 3–6(or 7)-crenate or (6 or)7–14-serrate on each side, apex obtuse or acute; cauline leaves 1 or 2; stipules green, ovate, herbaceous, abaxially densely white tomentose, margin usually entire, rarely serrate; leaflets smaller than those of radical leaves. Inflorescence terminal, cymose, few flowered, rarely a solitary flower. Flowers 1–1.8 cm in diam.; pedicel 1–2 cm, white tomentose. Sepals triangular-ovate, apex acuminate or acute; epicalyx segments linear-lanceolate, shorter than sepals, abaxially spreading sericeous-pilose, apex obtuse. Petals yellow, obovate, apex emarginate. Style subterminal, base thickened and papillate, or inconspicuously thickened; stigma dilated. Achenes smooth. Fl. and fr. May–Sep.

Hebei, Jilin, Nei Mongol, Shanxi, Xinjiang [Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia; Europe, North America].

Alpine thickets, meadows on mountain slopes, grassy slopes, marsh margins, rocks; 1600--3400 m.