Perennial, ascending or prostrate herbs. Rootstock generally undivided, rarely poorly branched. Floral stem up to 40 cm long, slender, leafy, pale-brown, adpressed pilose. Leaves 5-10 cm long, 2-3 pinnate, petioles adpressed pilose. Basal stipules adnate with lanceolate acuminate auricles, upper stipules ovate and green. Leaflets 1.5-2.5 cm long, upper surface subglabrous, lower dull white tomentose, deeply divided up to the midrib, leaflet segments remote, in 2-4 pairs, 0.9-1.8 cm long, oblong-linear, slender, obtuse. Flowers 9-12 mm diam, yellow. Speals densly pilose, eglandulose, subequal, outer oblong obtuse, inner ovate acute. Petals 6-7 mm long, obovate. Carpels numerous, styles subterminal, c 1 mm long, thickened at the base.

Fl. Per.: June-August

Lectotype: ‘Habitat in Sibiria, Tataria, Cappadocia.’ RCN: 3776. Herb. Linn. No. 655.6 (LINN). Jarvis, l. c. 767. 2007.

A-7 Chitral, between shabroz and shokorshal c 3000 m, P. Wendelbo 39 (BM), A-8 Gilgit, in immediate neighourhood of Nagar Town, W. M. Conway 50 (K), Khunjerab top c 5000 m. prostrate herb, on wet grassy ground, Muqarrab Shah & Jamshed 183 (ABD), B-8 Kashmir, Ladakh, 10-11000 ft., Thomson s. n. (BM), Kargia-Zaskar Ca.13000 ft, W. Koelz 5484 (B), Pensi La 4350 m, Raeu 2860 (G), Baltistan, Deosai c 13,000 ft, C.B. Clarke 29820 (BM), above Rattu, Astor, in swamps, R.R. Stewart 22794 (K).

Distribution: Central Asia, Siberia, China (Kashgar & Keriya Mountains to Burhan Badaishan, Altin Tag and Nanshan), Pakistan, Kashmir, India (Himachal Pradesh), rare in Elburz, Caucasus, the S.W. Alps and Scandinavia.

Common in open meadows in wet places and banks of water channels in the northern areas of Pakistan and Kashmir, where rainfall is scanty. Found between 3 to 5000m. Potentilla multifida is closely related to Potentilla ornithopoda Tausch. in its 2 to 3 pinnate leaves, deeply dissected leaflets and eglandulose sepals but differs in h aving leaflets with 2 to 4 pairs of segments which are 0.9 to 1.8cm long, oblong_linear, obutse and very slender. Potentilla ornithopoda Tausch. has 5 to 10 pairs of segments in a leaflet, which are 5 to 7mm long, oblong_ovate, acute and coriaceous.