Thalictrum


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, but resemble its members in having compound leaves twice or thrice divided.

Description

Meadow-rue leaves are alternate, bipinnately compound, and commonly glaucous blue-green in colour.
The flowers are small and apetalous, but have numerous long stamens, often brightly white, yellow, pink or pale purple, and are produced in conspicuous dense inflorescences. In some species, the sepals are large, brightly coloured and petal-like, but in most they are small and fall when the flower opens or soon after.

Habitat and distribution

Meadow-rues are usually found in shaded or damp locations, with a sub-cosmopolitan range throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere and also south to southern Africa and tropical South America, but absent from Australasia. They are most common in temperate regions of the world; twenty-two species are found in North America.

Ecology

is a characteristic of some members this genus, as seen in Thalictrum fendleri and Thalictrum dioicum. Others, such as Thalictrum sparsiflorum, are entomophilous.
Thalictrum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the Setaceous Hebrew Character moth.

Chemical constituents

Thalictrum species have been extensively studied by chemists. Typical natural products found in this genus are benzylisoquinoline alkaloids such as magnoflorine and the structurally related alkaloid berberine.

Selected species


Thalictrum aquilegifolium, RBGE 2010, 3.jpg|Thalictrum aquilegifolium
Thalictrum chelidonii03.jpg|Thalictrum chelidonii
Thalictrum coreanum2.jpg|Thalictrum coreanum
Thalictrum dasycarpum 1-eheep.jpg|Thalictrum dasycarpum
Thalictrum delavayi.jpg|Thalictrum delavayi flowers
Thalictrum dioicum.jpg|Early meadow-rue
Thalictrum filamentosum 1.jpg|Thalictrum filamentosum
Thalictrum flavum1.jpg|Thalictrum flavum leaves
Thalictrum glaucum0.jpg|Thalictrum glaucum flowers
Thalictrum kiusianum1.jpg|Thalictrum kiusianum
Thalictrumoccidentale1.jpg|Female flowers of Thalictrum occidentale
Thalictrum rochebrunnianum.jpg|Thalictrum rochebrunnianum
Thalictrum thalictroides - Rue Anemone.jpg|Rue-anemone
Thalictrum tuberosum 1.JPG|Thalictrum tuberosum
Thalictrum urbainii1.jpg|Thalictrum urbainii