Potentilla supinaL.

prostrate cinquefoilParadox cinquefoil

WFO wfo-0000991597 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Potentilla supina, photographed by Vladimír Fuka
fig. a Vladimír Fuka, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-10 / obs. 205571214

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 100 botanical countries

Regions where Potentilla supina is native: Algeria, Cape Provinces, Egypt, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Morocco, Namibia, Northern Provinces, Tunisia, Afghanistan, Altay, Amur, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Kirgizstan, Korea, Lebanon-Syria, Magadan, Manchuria, Mongolia, North Caucasus, Palestine, Primorye, Sinai, Tadzhikistan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, East European Russia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Krym, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Romania, South European Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine, Alberta, British Columbia, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Manitoba, Mexico Northeast, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Northwest Territories, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming AlgeriaCape ProvincesEgyptFree StateKwaZulu-NatalMoroccoNamibiaNorthern ProvincesTunisiaAfghanistanAltayAmurChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastInner MongoliaIranIraqJapanKazakhstanKhabarovskKirgizstanLebanon-SyriaMagadanManchuriaMongoliaNorth CaucasusPalestinePrimoryeSinaiTadzhikistanTibetTranscaucasusTürkiyeTurkmenistanUzbekistanWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaAssamBangladeshEast HimalayaIndiaNepalPakistanThailandVietnamWest HimalayaAlbaniaAustriaBelgiumBulgariaCentral European RussiaCzechia-SlovakiaEast European RussiaFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryItalyKrymNW. Balkan Pen.PolandRomaniaSouth European RussiaSpainSwitzerlandTürkiye-in-EuropeUkraineAlbertaBritish ColumbiaColoradoIdahoIllinoisIowaKansasLouisianaManitobaMexico NortheastMichiganMinnesotaMissouriMontanaNebraskaNew MexicoNew YorkNorth DakotaNorthwest TerritoriesOhioOklahomaOntarioOregonPennsylvaniaSaskatchewanSouth DakotaTexasUtahWashingtonWyoming Korea
Native distribution of Potentilla supina, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Altay ALT
Amur AMU
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Japan JAP
Kazakhstan KAZ
Khabarovsk KHA
Kirgizstan KGZ
Korea KOR
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Magadan MAG
Manchuria CHM
Mongolia MON
North Caucasus NCS
Palestine PAL
Primorye PRM
Sinai SIN
Tadzhikistan TZK
Tibet CHT
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Turkmenistan TKM
Uzbekistan UZB
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
Alberta ABT NORTHERN AMERICA
British Columbia BRC
Colorado COL
Idaho IDA
Illinois ILL
Iowa IOW
Kansas KAN
Louisiana LOU
Manitoba MAN
Mexico Northeast MXE
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Missouri MSO
Montana MNT
Nebraska NEB
New Mexico NWM
New York NWY
North Dakota NDA
Northwest Territories NWT
Ohio OHI
Oklahoma OKL
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Pennsylvania PEN
Saskatchewan SAS
South Dakota SDA
Texas TEX
Utah UTA
Washington WAS
Wyoming WYO
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
East European Russia RUE
France FRA
Germany GER
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Italy ITA
Krym KRY
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Romania ROM
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Switzerland SWI
Türkiye-in-Europe TUE
Ukraine UKR
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Cape Provinces CPP
Egypt EGY
Free State OFS
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Morocco MOR
Namibia NAM
Northern Provinces TVL
Tunisia TUN
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Flowering 247 in flower of 364 examined

Proportion of examined Potentilla supina in flower, by month
Month In flower Examined Share 95% interval
Jan 0 0 too few examined
Feb 0 2 too few examined
Mar 1 4 too few examined
Apr 14 36 39% 25% to 55%
May 53 77 69% 58% to 78%
Jun 73 84 87% 78% to 93%
Jul 33 42 79% 64% to 88%
Aug 32 47 68% 54% to 80%
Sep 19 32 59% 42% to 74%
Oct 17 25 68% 48% to 83%
Nov 5 12 42% 19% to 68%
Dec 0 3 too few examined

Peak flowering in Jun. Each bar is the share of Potentilla supina observations in which someone actually recorded the reproductive state and found the plant in flower, not the raw number of flowering records. That distinction matters: people observe plants far more in spring than in winter, so a bare count of flowering records partly measures when people go outside. Dividing by the number examined removes that. 247 of 364 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. 4 months have fewer than 5 examined observations, so no proportion is drawn for them. This is still a global aggregate and not a forecast for your garden: the same species flowers on different dates in different hemispheres. Where a species has fewer than 30 flowering records we do not draw this chart at all. Computed from 10.15468/dl.cgje2x.

Where it actually grows measured, from 2,044 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low -20.3 °C -10.8 °C -1.4 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 22.1 °C 23.4 °C 29.6 °C
Annual rainfall 387 mm 630 mm 887 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 11 mm 102 mm 157 mm

It is found where winters are severely cold. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 2,044 research-grade observations of Potentilla supina that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one. Climate from CHELSA V2.1 (Karger et al. 2017); occurrences from 10.15468/dl.cgje2x.

Also published as 54 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Argentina supina (L.) Lam.
  • Chamaephyton supinum (L.) Fourr.
  • Comarum flavum Buch.-Ham. ex Roxb.
  • Comarum supinum (L.) Alef.
  • Fragaria supina (L.) Crantz
  • Potentilla cana Wall. ex Hook.f.
  • Potentilla cicutariifolia Willd.
  • Potentilla denticulata Wall. ex Hook.f.
  • Potentilla denticulata Wall.
  • Potentilla fauriei H.Lév.
  • Potentilla gariepensis E.Mey. ex Harv.
  • Potentilla gariepensis E.Mey.
  • Potentilla garipensis E.Mey.
  • Potentilla limosa (Boenn.) Zimmeter
  • Potentilla limosa Boenn. ex Schur
  • Potentilla nicolletii (S.Watson) E.Sheld.
  • Potentilla obovata Bertol.
  • Potentilla paradoxa Nutt.
  • Potentilla prostrata Haenke ex Pohl
  • Potentilla ruthenia Buch.-Ham. ex Hook.f.
  • Potentilla subsalsa Schur
  • Potentilla subsupina Tzvelev
  • Potentilla supina f. decumbens Th.Wolf
  • Potentilla supina f. decumbens Freyn

and 30 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.