Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) • Earth.com

Common meadow-rue

(Thalictrum simplex simplex)

galery
en

Description

Thalictrum flavum, known by the common names common meadow-rue, poor man's rhubarb, and yellow meadow-rue, is a flowering plant species in the family Ranunculaceae. It is a native to Caucasus and Russia (Siberia). Growing to 100 cm (39 in) tall by 45 cm (18 in) broad, it is an herbaceous perennial producing clusters of fluffy yellow fragrant flowers in summer. Thalictrum flavum has fibrous roots, and wedge-shaped, dark green leaves, with a paler green underneath; they are divided into multiple sections. It blooms between June and August. The flowers are composed of short sepals and longer, erect stamens. The sepals are actually white, but the multiple erect, yellow stamens, give the flower a yellow appearance. Later, three fruits are formed from each flower head. It was first described and published by Carl Linnaeus, in his book 'Species Plantarum', on page 546 in 1753. The specific epithet flavum means "pure yellow". The subspecies T. flavum subsp. glaucum (from the word glaucous) has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. It serves as an alternate host for the wheat disease Wheat Leaf Rust. The common name 'meadow rue' is thought to have derived from 'meadow rhubarb'. It is written as in Chinese script and known as huang tang song cao in Pidgin in China. It was verified by United States Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service on 24 January 1997. It is very widespread, and is native to temperate regions of Asia, Northern Africa and Europe. Thalictrum is a genus of 120-200 species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, native mostly to temperate regions. Meadow-rue is a common name for plants in this genus. Thalictrum is a taxonomically difficult genus with poorly understood species boundaries; it is in need of further taxonomic and field research for clarification. Despite their common name of "meadow-rue", Thalictrum species are not closely related to the true rue (family Rutaceae), but resemble its members in having compound leaves twice or thrice divided. Meadow-rue leaves are alternate, bipinnately compound, and commonly glaucous blue-green in colour.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum:
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order:Ranunculales
Family:Ranunculaceae
Genus:Thalictrum
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