cinquefoil
Jul. 26th, 2018 08:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prettygoodwordcinquefoil (SINGK-foil) - n., any of several species of northern temperate herbaceous plants (genus Potentilla) with yellow, red, or white five-petaled flowers and often five-lobed leaves.
About 300 species worldwide, all in the rose family. Closely related to strawberries, and many look very much like strawberries except for having dry, inedible fruit. In Middle English this was spelled sinkfoil, from Middle French cincfoille, from Latin quīnquefolium, (plant with) five leaves, translation of Greek pentáphyllon. A creeping cinquefoil aka European cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans):
Thanks, WikiMedia!
---L.
About 300 species worldwide, all in the rose family. Closely related to strawberries, and many look very much like strawberries except for having dry, inedible fruit. In Middle English this was spelled sinkfoil, from Middle French cincfoille, from Latin quīnquefolium, (plant with) five leaves, translation of Greek pentáphyllon. A creeping cinquefoil aka European cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans):
Thanks, WikiMedia!
---L.
