The presence of this perennial often indicates a general lack of soil fertility. Cinquefoil creeps and spreads by long, woody runners. It roots at the nodes and new plants arise along with additional creeping stems. It is a tough, wiry plant that is often confused with wild strawberry. Leaves ot the two plant are quite similar, but cinquefoil divides into five parts, while strawberry divides into three. Cinquefoil leaves also have a white, wooly undersurface. Several other species of the cinquefoil family have three-part leaves, but these plants grow upright and seldom appear as turf problems. Flowers of cinquefoil have five bright yellow petals, while those of strawberry are white.