Thalictrum pubescens
Thalictrum minus
King-of-the-meadow, late meadow-rue, meadow-weed, muskrat-weed, pigamon pubescent, tall meadow-rue
lesser meadow-rue
erect, coarse, 50-300 cm.
erect, nearly cespitose or rhizomatous, 15-150 cm, glabrous or somewhat glandular.
blade ternately and pinnately decompound;
leaflets light to dark green, cordate or nearly orbiculate to ovate or obovate, apically undivided to 2-3(-5)-lobed or -toothed, 11-68 × 5-70 mm, length 0.8-2.6 times width, membranous to firm, margins scarcely revolute, lobe margins entire, surfaces abaxially pubescent to glabrous.
blade 3-4-ternate;
leaflets nearly orbiculate or broadly ovate, irregularly 2-3-lobed or margins dentate in distal 1/2, 15-30 mm, surfaces glabrous to glandular.
racemes or panicles to corymbs, apically ± rounded, many flowered;
peduncles and pedicels often pubescent.
panicles with long branches, many flowered.
unisexual or bisexual (sometimes bisexual with very few stamens);
sepals 4(-6), white to purplish, elliptic-rounded, 2-3.5 mm;
filaments ascending, white to purplish, filiform to distinctly clavate, 1.5-7 mm, usually rigid;
anthers 0.5-1.5(-2.1) mm, usually blunt or only slightly apiculate.
pedicels not recurved in fruit;
sepals yellowish green, ovate, 3-4 mm;
stamens 10-15;
anthers yellowish, 2-3 mm.
numerous, sessile to stipitate;
stipe 0.5-1.5(-2.4) mm;
body ellipsoid, 3-5 mm, prominently veined, usually pubescent;
beak usually persistent, straight or coiled distally, 0.6-2.5 mm, about 1/2 length of achene body.
3-15, sessile;
body broadly ovoid to narrowly oblong-ovoid, 2.5-4 mm, ± weakly veined.
= 126.
Thalictrum pubescens
Thalictrum minus
The ovaries change from white to purplish, becoming light green, then darker green, and finally brown as fruits mature.
Because of the polymorphic nature of Thalictrum pubescens, a proliferation of names for minor morphologic variants has resulted. Field studies (M. Park 1992) have shown that too much morphologic variation occurs within populations to support the recognition of previously described taxa. Plants in New England and northeastern Canada often have a corymbose inflorescence and longer filaments and achene beaks.
This species is often incorrectly treated in floras as T. polygamum Sprengel, an invalid name.
The Iroquois used Thalictrum pubescens medicinally a a wash for head and neck, to stop nosebleeds, and to treat gall (D. E. Moerman 1986).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Thalictrum minus has been reported from mainland Alaska (E. Hultén 1968); we have been able to confirm its occurrence only in the Aleutian Islands.
Initially pendent, the flowers become erect. The beak is 0.75-1 mm, much shorter than the achene, and not fimbriate.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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