alchemilla

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}

{{more citations needed|date=January 2022}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image=Lady's Mantle Alchemilla vulgaris 2816px.jpg

|image_caption=Alchemilla vulgaris

|image2=Nordens flora Alchemilla vulgaris clean.jpg

|image2_caption=Botanical illustration of Alchemilla vulgaris

|display_parents=3

|taxon=Alchemilla

|authority=L.

|type_species=A. vulgaris

|subdivision_ranks=Species

|subdivision=See text

|synonyms_ref=

{{cite POWO |id=30008181-2 |title=Alchemilla L. |access-date=14 January 2022 }}

|synonyms=

• Alchimilla {{small|Mill.}}
• Aphanes {{small|L.}}
• Lachemilla {{small|(Focke) Rydb.}}
• Percepier {{small|Moench}}
• Zygalchemilla {{small|Rydb.}}

}}

Alchemilla is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Rosaceae, with the common name lady's mantle applied generically as well as specifically to Alchemilla mollis when referred to as a garden plant. The plant used as a herbal tea or for medicinal usage such as gynaecological disorders is Alchemilla xanthochlora or in Middle Europe the so-called common lady's mantle Alchemilla vulgaris. There are about 700 species, the majority native to cool temperate and subarctic regions of Europe and Asia, with a few species native to the mountains of Africa and the Americas.{{cite web |title=Alchemilla L. |work=Atlas of Living Australia |url=https://bie.ala.org.au/species/http://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2910256 |access-date=2018-02-11 |archive-date=2018-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831002408/https://bie.ala.org.au/species/http://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2910256 |url-status=dead }}

Most species of Alchemilla are clump-forming or mounded perennials with basal leaves arising from woody rhizomes. Some species have leaves with lobes that radiate from a common point and others have divided leaves—both are typically fan-shaped with small teeth at the tips. The long-stalked, gray-green to green leaves are often covered with soft hairs, and show a high degree of water-resistance (see Lotus effect). Green to bright chartreuse flowers are small, have no petals and appear in clusters above the foliage in late spring and summer.