Thalictrum
Encyclopedia
Thalictrum is a genus
of 120-200 species of herbaceous
perennial
flowering plant
s in the buttercup family
native mostly to temperate regions.
Thalictrum is a taxonomically
difficult genus with poorly understood species boundaries; it is in need of further taxonomic and field research for clarification.
It is unrelated to the true rue
(family Rutaceae
), but resembles it in having the petiole twice or thrice divided.
and also south to southern Africa
and tropical South America
, but absent from Australasia
. It is most common in temperate
regions of the world, twenty-two species are found in North America
.
are alternate, bipinnately compound, commonly glaucous blue-green in colour.
The flowers are small and apetalous (no petals), but have numerous long stamen
s, often brightly white, yellow, pink or pale purple, and are produced in conspicuous dense inflorescences. In some species (e.g. T. chelidonii, T. tuberosum), the sepal
s are large, brightly coloured and petal-like, but in most they are small and fall when the flower opens or soon after.
e of some Lepidoptera
species including Setaceous Hebrew Character
.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of 120-200 species of herbaceous
Herbaceous plant
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the buttercup family
Ranunculaceae
Ranunculaceae are a family of about 1700 species of flowering plants in about 60 genera, distributed worldwide....
native mostly to temperate regions.
Thalictrum is a taxonomically
Alpha taxonomy
Alpha taxonomy is the discipline concerned with finding, describing and naming species of living or fossil organisms. This field is supported by institutions holding collections of these organisms, with relevant data, carefully curated: such institutes include natural history museums, herbaria and...
difficult genus with poorly understood species boundaries; it is in need of further taxonomic and field research for clarification.
It is unrelated to the true rue
Rue
Rue is a genus of strongly scented evergreen subshrubs 20–60 cm tall, in the family Rutaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, Macaronesia and southwest Asia. There are perhaps 8 to 40 species in the genus...
(family Rutaceae
Rutaceae
Rutaceae, commonly known as the rue or citrus family, is a family of flowering plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.Species of the family generally have flowers that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents...
), but resembles it in having the petiole twice or thrice divided.
Habitat
Meadow-rues are usually found in shaded or damp locations, with a sub-cosmopolitan range throughout most of the Northern HemisphereNorthern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
and also south to southern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and tropical South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, but absent from Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
. It is most common in temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
regions of the world, twenty-two species are found in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Leaves and flowers
The leavesLeaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are alternate, bipinnately compound, commonly glaucous blue-green in colour.
The flowers are small and apetalous (no petals), but have numerous long stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s, often brightly white, yellow, pink or pale purple, and are produced in conspicuous dense inflorescences. In some species (e.g. T. chelidonii, T. tuberosum), the sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s are large, brightly coloured and petal-like, but in most they are small and fall when the flower opens or soon after.
Food plants
Thalictrum species are used as food plants by the larvaLarva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species including Setaceous Hebrew Character
Setaceous Hebrew Character
The Setaceous Hebrew Character is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in the Palearctic ecozone. It is a common species throughout Europe. It is also found in North America, from coast to coast across Canada and the northern United States to western Alaska. It occurs in the Rocky Mountains...
.
Selected species
- Thalictrum alpinumThalictrum alpinumThalictrum alpinum is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name alpine meadow-rue. It is native to Arctic and alpine regions of North America and Eurasia, including Alaska, northern Canada, and Greenland, and it occurs in cold, wet, boggy habitat in high...
– Alpine Meadow-rue - Thalictrum aquilegifolium – Greater Meadow-rue
- Thalictrum calabricum
- Thalictrum chelidonii
- Thalictrum clavatum – Mountain Meadow-rue
- Thalictrum cooleyiThalictrum cooleyiThalictrum cooleyi is a rare species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name Cooley's meadowrue. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it is present in North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It is threatened by habitat destruction and degradation...
– Cooley's Meadow-rue - Thalictrum delavayiThalictrum delavayiThalictrum delavayi is a flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae that is native to China. 'Hewitt's Double' is a double-flowered cultivar that is often cultivated....
– Chinese Meadow-rue - Thalictrum diffusiflorum
- Thalictrum dioicumThalictrum dioicumThalictrum dioicum is a species of herbaceous plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Plants are typically upright growing woodland natives from central and eastern North America including parts of south eastern Canada...
– Early Meadow-rue - Thalictrum dipterocarpum
- Thalictrum fendleriThalictrum fendleriThalictrum fendleri is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name Fendler's meadow-rue. It is native to western North America, including much of the western United States and northern Mexico. It is a common plant found in many types of habitat. It is a perennial...
– Fendler's Meadow-rue - Thalictrum flavumThalictrum flavumThalictrum flavum is a plant species in the genus Thalictrum. It is often called common meadow-rue or yellow meadow-rue...
– Yellow or Common Meadow-rue - Thalictrum foeniculaceum
- Thalictrum foetidum
- Thalictrum foliolosum
- Thalictrum glaucum
- Thalictrum ichangense
- Thalictrum javanicum
- Thalictrum kiusianumThalictrum kiusianumThalictrum kiusianum is a herbaceous perennial grown for its dwarf habit and flowers with showy pink stamens or pistils.-External links:*...
- Thalictrum lucidum
- Thalictrum macrostylum – Piedmont or Small-leaved Meadow-rue
- Thalictrum minusThalictrum minusThalictrum minus is a perennial herb in the family Ranunculaceae that is native to Europe, Northwest Africa, Yemen, Ethiopia, South Africa, Southwest Asia, and Siberia. It grows on sand dunes, shingle, coastal rocks or calcareous grassland, cliffs and rocky gullies at up to elevation at southern...
– Lesser Meadow-rue - Thalictrum morrisonii
- Thalictrum occidentaleThalictrum occidentaleThalictrum occidentale is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name western meadow-rue. It is native to northwestern North America from Alaska and western Canada to northern California to Wyoming and Colorado, where it grows in shady habitat types such as forest...
– Western Meadow-rue - Thalictrum orientale
- Thalictrum reniforme
- Thalictrum petaloideum
- Thalictrum polygamumThalictrum polygamumThalictrum polygamum , is a herbaceous perennial plant native to wet areas in eastern North America. Its common name is from its height — up to 8 feet.-Leaves and Flowers:...
– Tall Meadow-rue (syn. T. pubescens) - Thalictrum revolutum – Waxyleaf Meadow-rue
- Thalictrum rochebrunianum
- Thalictrum simplex – Small Meadow-rue
- Thalictrum sparsiflorumThalictrum sparsiflorumThalictrum sparsiflorum is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name fewflower meadow-rue. It is native to northwestern North America and parts of northeastern Asia. It grows in moist habitat, such as streambanks and forest understory. It is a perennial herb...
– Fewflower Meadow-rue - Thalictrum thalictroidesThalictrum thalictroidesThalictrum thalictroides is a spring ephemeral plant in the buttercup family, prized for its white to pink flowers, native to woodland in eastern North America.-Description:...
– Rue-anemone (syn. Anemonella thalictroides) - Thalictrum tuberosum