English: Meadow-rue.
Clades: Thalictroideae
Genus: 120 to 200 species
Region: east and central Europe, Asia, Northern Hemisphere, southern Africa, tropical South America, but absent from Australasia.
Habitat: temperate; damp woods, hedges and rich upland meadows; lower Alps, often in stony places near glaciers; most fairly good soils in sun or semi-shade; prefers a humus rich soil; tolerant of frost; woodland edge.
Ecology: greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of plants, legumes; rarely troubled by browsing deer.
Content: berberine; benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, magnoflorine.
Ecology: food plants by the larvae of some
Lepidoptera, Setaceous Hebrew Character moth.
Use: root, raw or roasted, young leaves, cooked, as food; medicinal; ornamental.
BotanyHerb; perennial; up to 1.00 metres tall; poisonous.
Root: poisonous.
Leaves: alternate, bipinnately compound; glaucous; blue-green.
Inflorescences: conspicuous dense.
Flowers: small; petals lacking; stamens numerous, long, often brightly white, yellow, pink or pale purple; sepals small, falling when the flower opens or soon after, sometimes large, brightly coloured, petal-like.
Pollination: by wind, anemophily or by insects, entomophily
TaxonomyThalictrum is a taxonomically difficult genus with poorly understood species boundaries. Thalictrum is not closely related to the true rue family
Rutaceae, but resemble its members in having compound leaves twice or thrice divided.