Thalictrum pubescens
Thalictrum thalictroides
King-of-the-meadow, late meadow-rue, meadow-weed, muskrat-weed, pigamon pubescent, tall meadow-rue
anemone meadow-rue, rue-anemone, windflower
black, tuberous.
erect, coarse, 50-300 cm.
erect, scapose, 10-30 cm, glabrous.
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 2x-ternately compound;
leaflets widely ovate or obovate to nearly rotund, apically 3-lobed, 8-30 mm wide, surfaces glabrous.
racemes or panicles to corymbs, apically ± rounded, many flowered;
peduncles and pedicels often pubescent.
umbels or flowers solitary, (1-)3-6-flowered;
involucral bracts usually 3-foliolate, petiolate and opposite, or sessile with leaflets appearing to be whorls of 6 petiolate leaves, otherwise similar to basal leaves.
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.
sepals not caducous, white to pinkish, showy, elliptic to obovate, 5-18 mm, longer than stamens;
filaments narrowly clavate, 3-4 mm;
anthers 0.4-0.7 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.
(4-)8-12(-15), short-stipitate;
stipe 0.1-0.4 mm;
body ovoid to fusiform, 3-4.5 mm, prominently 8-10-veined.
= 126.
Thalictrum pubescens
Thalictrum thalictroides
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.)
In Thalictrum, T. thalictroides is unique in having umbelliform inflorescences and is therefore easy to identify. Based on this one distinction, many botanists still place it in the genus Anemonella. The leaflets, flowers, and fruits, however, are not unlike those of Thalictrum.
The Cherokee used infusions prepared from the roots of Thalictrum thalictroides to treat diarrhea and vomiting (D. E. Moerman 1986).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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