| Scientific name: | Potentilla palustris (L.) Scop. | |
| Synonym name: | Comarum palustre L. | |
| Swedish name: | Kråkklöver | |
| German name: | Sumpf-Blutauge | |
| Nederlandse naam: | Wateraardbei | |
| English name: | Marsh Cinquefoil, Marsh Five-Finger, Purple Marshlocks, Swamp Potentilla | |
| Plant Family: | Rosaceae, Rose Family, Rosväxter |
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| Life form: | Creeping, deciduous, waterside shrublet | |
| Stems: | up to 1 m long stem (stolon), usually reddish and floats in shallow water or sprawls along the shoreline. The upper part of the stem rises above the water surface 20-50 cm, is frequently hairy, and supports the flowers. | |
| Leaves: | Cinquefoil- called five-finger, because of the resemblance of its leaves to the fingers of the hand. Pinnate toothed leaves, lower leaves often have 7 leaflets, topmost ones only 3 | |
| Flowers: | Flower with five red sepals longer and broader than the five purple petals | |
| Flowering Period: | June-August | |
| Fruits: | Marsh cinquefoil has smooth, brownish-purple, clustered egg-shaped achenes, about 1.5 mm long. | |
| Habitat: | Moist soil, such as in swamps, on banks and in damp meadows |
Derivation of the botanical name: Potentilla from the Latin, potentia, "might, force, power". palustris from the Latin, paluster, "marshy, boggy". Comarum, Greek Komaros, the ancient name for the strawberry tree, which the fruit of this plant resembles.
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