Thalictrum dasycarpum

Native

Wet to moderate moisture. Meadows, shores, streambanks. Full to partial sun.

June to July

Greenish-white

3′ to 5′

This is a 3′ to 5′ tall, erect, perennial forb that rises from a caudex. Staminate flowers (male) and pistillate flowers (female) are borne on separate plants.

Stems are erect, hairless, and often branched in the upper half. They are green when young becoming purple with maturity.

Basal and lower stem leaves are on leaf stalks, middle and upper leaves are stalkless or nearly stalkless. Stem leaves are alternate. They are 3 to 5 times ternate—divided into 3 main divisions (ternate), each division further divided into 3 segments (biternate), each segment further divided into 3 leaflets (triternate), or once or twice more divided. The leaflets are ⅔″ to 2⅓″ long, ⅓″ to 1¾″ wide, 1 to 2½ times as long as wide. They are egg-shaped with the attachment at the wide end or inversely egg-shaped with the attachment at the narrow end. The larger leaflets are divided into 2 to 5 but usually 3 lobes. The lobes are untoothed or occasionally have a few additional teeth. Smaller leaflets may be unlobed. The upper surface is hairless, the lower surface hairy but not glandular.

The male inflorescence is a large, open, showy, branched cluster at the end of the stems and branches. It is up to 10″ tall and pyramid-shaped at the top. The female inflorescence is not showy.

Male flowers have usually 4 but up to 6 whitish petal-like sepals. There are no petals. They droop at the end of short stalks. The sepals often drop off early leaving about 12 stamens with white filaments and yellow anthers. The flowers do not produce petals or nectar to attract insects. They are wind pollinated.

The fruit is an achene about ⅛″ long.

Early meadow rue (Thalictrum doicum) is a much smaller plant, 12″ to 28″ at maturity. All leaves, including middle and upper leaves, are on long stalks. The leaflets have 3 to 12 often round-toothed lobes. The flowers bloom earlier, April to May.

Waxy leaf meadow rue (Thalictrum revolutum) stems are glaucous. Leaflet margins are rolled backward to the underside. The lower leaflet surface is covered with glandular hairs giving it a whitish, waxy appearance, and has a conspicuous network of raised veins.