Thalictrum dioicum
Encyclopedia
Thalictrum 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. This species has dioecious plants, with male and female flowers on separate plants blooming in early to mid spring.
Thalictrum dioicum grows from 30 to 80 cm tall, from upright caudex
, with yellow-gold colored - thick fibrous roots. New caudexes are generated each year by the current years plant and the old caudex withers away in the fall and early spring of the next year. In early spring plants grow, producing glabrous or glandular leaves. both basal and cauline leaves are produced that have long petioles. Leaf blades are 1-4×-ternately compound with leaflets reniform or cordate to obovate or orbiculate in shape. The leaflets are 10-45 mm wide with lobed margins often crenate, and the undersides are normally glabrous or glandular. Inflorescence
s are panicle
s or corymbs produced terminally and axillary with many flowered branches. The flowers have no petals but have greenish colored, 1.8-4mm long sepals sometimes tinted purple. The sepals are ovate to obovate or oval in shape. On male plants, the flower filaments are the most showy part of the hanging flowers, being yellow to greenish yellow in color and 3.5-5.5 mm long. The filaments end in anthers 2-4 mm long that are mucronate to acuminate in shape with purple colored stigma. After blooming, female plants if fertilized, produce green fruits called achene
s. Each flower that is fertilized, typically produces (3-)7 to 13 achenes that are not reflexed and sessile or nearly so in tight clusters. The achenes are ovoid to ellipsoid in shape and not laterally compressed, 3.5-5 mm long, glabrous, very strongly veined, with 1.5 to 3mm long beaks, ripening in mid summer.
Plants are grown in shade gardens for their attractive lacy foliage that is reminiscent of columbines or maiden hair fern. The males produce more showy flowers than the female plants, blooming in early spring with the flowers and foliage rising out of the ground in club-like clusters with the basel leaves unfolding first. Plants start to flower before the compound leaves have completely unfolded, plants are wind pollinated and males start off the year taller than the females, but as the fruits grow females are taller typically in summer.
Ranunculaceae
Ranunculaceae are a family of about 1700 species of flowering plants in about 60 genera, distributed worldwide....
. Plants are typically upright growing woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
natives from central and eastern North America including parts of south eastern Canada. This species has dioecious plants, with male and female flowers on separate plants blooming in early to mid spring.
Thalictrum dioicum grows from 30 to 80 cm tall, from upright caudex
Caudex
A caudex is a form of stem morphology appearing as a thickened, short, perennial stem that is either underground or near ground level . It may be swollen for the purpose of water storage, especially in xerophytes...
, with yellow-gold colored - thick fibrous roots. New caudexes are generated each year by the current years plant and the old caudex withers away in the fall and early spring of the next year. In early spring plants grow, producing glabrous or glandular leaves. both basal and cauline leaves are produced that have long petioles. Leaf blades are 1-4×-ternately compound with leaflets reniform or cordate to obovate or orbiculate in shape. The leaflets are 10-45 mm wide with lobed margins often crenate, and the undersides are normally glabrous or glandular. Inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s are panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
s or corymbs produced terminally and axillary with many flowered branches. The flowers have no petals but have greenish colored, 1.8-4mm long sepals sometimes tinted purple. The sepals are ovate to obovate or oval in shape. On male plants, the flower filaments are the most showy part of the hanging flowers, being yellow to greenish yellow in color and 3.5-5.5 mm long. The filaments end in anthers 2-4 mm long that are mucronate to acuminate in shape with purple colored stigma. After blooming, female plants if fertilized, produce green fruits called achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...
s. Each flower that is fertilized, typically produces (3-)7 to 13 achenes that are not reflexed and sessile or nearly so in tight clusters. The achenes are ovoid to ellipsoid in shape and not laterally compressed, 3.5-5 mm long, glabrous, very strongly veined, with 1.5 to 3mm long beaks, ripening in mid summer.
Plants are grown in shade gardens for their attractive lacy foliage that is reminiscent of columbines or maiden hair fern. The males produce more showy flowers than the female plants, blooming in early spring with the flowers and foliage rising out of the ground in club-like clusters with the basel leaves unfolding first. Plants start to flower before the compound leaves have completely unfolded, plants are wind pollinated and males start off the year taller than the females, but as the fruits grow females are taller typically in summer.