Common Name: Indian strawberry,
Potentilla (commonly called Cinqefoil and has around 500 species) genus is closely related to strawberry family namely Fragaria. Fragaria have white or pink flowers and fruits are edible. In Pontellia the fruits are generally considered edible and have yellow flowers. P inidca probably belongs to the larger Asian geographic region, and not a plant of Western ghat origin. However, they are seen in hill station towns in Western ghats. Probably a garden escape: often used as an attractive ground cover plant. This perennial plant roots at nodes and spreads over the large areas. The leafs are trifoliate hairy with deeply serrated margins. The flowers are yellow in color and look attractive. The red colored fruit is an aggregate fruit resembling strawberry. However, has no particular taste and not considered edible. Often found in parks and gardens in Nilgiri town area.
