Scientific name: Thalictrum fendleri

If something about this plant’s name seems familiar, it is named for the same botanist as the plant in last week’s article. Augustus fendleri was an early botanist in the middle of the 19th century, who was one of the first to collect, describe, and name plants from the region of the Great Lakes to New Mexico. This is another of the plants he identified, which is found throughout the western states from the Pacific to the Rockies.

The name thalictrum is Greek for “the blooming one.” “Meadowrue” combines the meadow habitat where some species are found, and the similarity of the leaves to those of a plant named “ruta.”

Meadowrue is a very unique plant. It stands about 2 feet tall, with thin, delicate leaves that are each divided into 3, 9, or 27 leaflets. The leaflets are each somewhat round with rounded lobes, and from a half-inch to an inch wide.

The flowers are about a half-inch long, and are not easily noticed. They have no petals, and all the flowers of each plant either have only stamens or only pistils. The flowers in the photo each have yellow stamens hanging down. Pistillate flowers are a little smaller, with greenish pointed seeds spreading outward.

There are several species of meadowrue in North America, and some of them have been used by American Indian tribes in the east for food and medicine. However, some meadowrue species are known to produce a substance that is a poisonous to the heart, and there is no indication of any use of the western species of meadowrue.

Where to find: Look in shady but moist, open areas in the woods, from low to middle elevations. The flowers should be blooming from late May into July.