Tormentil is a herbaceous perennial plant with alternating leaves that divide into three leaflets with serrated edges. Its yellow flowers bloom throughout the summer from June to August. It can be differentiated from other cinquefoils is by its four-leaf flower.

Tormentil grows in the fresh heath- and peat forests, meadows, and fens of Northern Europe and Asia.

The plant’s root was once turned into paste to treat wounds and was boiled and drank as a tincture to cure intestinal disorders. It is still used today as a dye and as an ingredient in beauty products.

Tormentil is a highly-adaptable common species and has benefitted from human activities, expanding its habitat to human-shaped places such as woodland pastures, roadsides, meadows and areas that have been cleared by burning.