Potentilla subsect. Nematostylae Th. Wolf, Biblioth. Bot. 16(Heft 71): 45. 1908.

Subshrubs or perennial, woody-based herbs. Basal leaves pinnate, palmate, or 3-foliolate; leaflets entire, serrate, or divided at margin. Ovary densely villous, very rarely glabrous; style sub-basal, lateral, or subterminal, filiform, evenly thickened throughout its length.

About 50 species: mainly temperate and subarctic regions of N hemisphere; five species (one endemic) in China.