Dasiphora dryadanthoides - Prostrate Cinquefoil

Prostrate Cinquefoil is a prostrate shrubs with rising up branches. Stem is branched, woody with the bark peeling off, reddish-brown, adpressed hairy, young branches covered with stipulate sheaths. Leaves are pinnate, with 7 and 5 leaflets, leaf-stalks small and hairy. Leaflets are 4-6 x 2-3 mm, ovate-elliptic, slightly curled, pointed, sparsely silky beneath. Flowers arise singly, mostly lateral, small, 1.4-1.7 cm across. Petals are nearly round, 7-8 mm long, yellow, stamens about 25. Outer sepals are 3-5 x 2 mm, shorter than the inner sepals, covered with spreading silky hairs. Carpels are numerous, styles club-shaped, about 2 mm long, lateral. Achenes are concealed in silky hairs. Prostrate Cinquefoil is native to the Himalaya, Pakistan, Tadzhikistan, Tibet. It is fairly common species in Gilgit, Baltistan, Chitral and Kashmir, generally found on stony places in the dry subalpine zone between 3500-5000 m.