A few of these Cinquefoils look quite similar but the beauty of this one is that it flowers first by a month or so. If you find one covered in flowers in early April or late March in a warm Spring, then it is unlikely to be P. reptans (Creeping Cinquefoil) or P. anglica (Trailing Tormentil) whose yellow flowers are quite similar.

This is also a species which has suffered from the dreaded Taxonomia confusa condition. It was called Potentilla tabernaemontani when I started botanising seriously in the 80s, then it was changed by the taxonomists to Potentilla neumanniana which was at least little less of a tongue twister.

Now it has re emerged as Potentilla tabernaemontani again in the BSBI and Kent lists.

It has an interesting distribution in that it does not mind northerly latitudes but is clustered wherever it is found - often on dry and rocky basic grassland. There are clusters of sites near to Edinburgh, North Wales, the white peak in Derbyshire, Inverness, East Anglia and in Somerset but it is not common and is classified as Rare in Stace Vol 2 (1997) where it is still known as Potentilla neumanniana.