Tall meadow-rue
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated February 2018.
Scientific name: Thalictrum pubescens Pursh
Common name(s): tall meadow-rue, tall meadow rue, king-of-the-meadow
Link(s): USDA PLANTS Profile, NPIN Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
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- in prune blueberry field
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- in flower, early July
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- divided leaves
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- flowers have no petals – “puffs” are stamens
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- fruits forming, late July
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- seeds
Description:
– perennial
-herbacious
-leaves are:
- compound
- alternate
- three lobes
-height of 3-7 feet
-showy outward extending white stamens
– may be confused with T. dioicum; see left sidebar on Go Botany webpage
Habitat:
-disturbed areas
-floodplains
-marshes
-forests
-meadows and fields
Natural History:
-Iroquois used this to treat nosebleeds and gall conditions
-Montagnais used the leaves as a spice
Sources:
Go Botany. “Thalictrum Pubescens Pursh.” Thalictrum Pubescens (Tall Meadow-Rue): Go Botany, 2021, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/thalictrum/pubescens/.