ERIKA ALIN

As early summer progresses, the glossy leaves of three-toothed cinquefoils fan out across crevices and mossy crannies. Above the leaves, airy clusters of white flowers open lightly rippling petals that gradually drop down around wiry stamens. I first came to know the three-toothed cinquefoil as a member of the Potentilla or Cinquefoil genus, a large grouping of mostly northern and arctic plants with compound leaves.1 

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As technological advances allowed older classifications to be refined by genetic testing, the three-toothed cinquefoil was moved to the Sibbaldiopsis genus.2 The genus takes its name from the arctic-alpine creeping sibbaldia, which like the three-toothed cinquefoil retains its leaves over the winter. Once the coastal outcrops grow bleak and barren in fall, the cinquefoil’s leaves turn deep burgundy and glow against the rain-streaked rock and early snow.