Tall Meadow Rue, King-of-the-Meadow

[helwen]

For those looking for it, a tall plant that can handle partial shade to fairly heavy shade -- but not total shade -- is Tall Meadow Rue (Thalictrum polygamum). Buttercup Family (Ranunculaceae).

Perennial, reproduces by seeds.

From Peterson Field Guide on Wildflowers Northeastern/Northcentral North America:

An intricate plant; plumes of flowers lack petals. Note starry bursts of white threadlike stamens. Leaves divided and subdivided into many roundish 3-lobed leaflets. 3-8 ft. Swamps, streamsides. E. Canada to Indiana, Long Island; in mts. to Georgia. JULY-SEPT.

Note: Mine appeared in my backyard in Northampton one year, and I moved it with me to Sunderland, Holyoke, and now to Ashfield. But it may be possible to find on a walk, or at one of the nurseries that carries native plant life. There's one on the road that goes toward Hampton Ponds (Rt. 202 I think) and another in, I believe, Deerfield.

Also, maybe the shade made up for not being swampy? Because none of the places I had it in the past were swamps or by streams, but were somewhat damp from not being in direct sunlight and/or trapped moisture in the soil well either by the shape of the land or the other plants growing there (ground cover especially). In Holyoke it got a few hours of sunlight daily but it was either by the shady side of the garage or down at the bottom of the hill (moved it when we expanded the garage for the studiolo). Until last week it was in full sun here at the farm and wasn't thrilled about that but was still growing anyway. Come July it might not have fared as well.

Now it's under trees and will probably only get direct sunlight at sunrise for a few hours. Soil is definitely dampish there. Hm, maybe it'll grow higher than 3-4 feet this year? That could be interesting...

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Tall Meadow Rue: additional properties and supposed properties.

The alkaloids around the roots have antimicrobial properties. Also has the name Thalictrum pubescens.

Was one of the plants that used to be used for rattlesnake bites.

From http://www.voyageurcountry.com/htmls/floweringplants/plants/meadowruetall.html:

The nickname Muskrat Weed was given to the Tall Meadow Rue by people who found the tall plant frequently at muskrat ponds.

Caius Plinius Secundus (Pliny the elder) served the Roman army in Germany and Africa and then was a colonial administrator in Spain. He wrote many books on subjects ranging from history and military tactics to of course, natural history. The 37 books he wrote Historia Naturalis still remain. In one of those many books he mentions the Genus Thalictrum. He said that Thalictrum "prevents hair falling out, or if it has already done so, restores it." What Pliny the elder did not know was that some members of the genus contain thalictrine, which is a very potent cardiac poison according to the United States Dispensatory.

There are some pictures of Tall Meadow Rue at this above-mentioned site.

Comments

[flidaisairmid.livejournal.com]

From my experience, the plant likes to grow in areas with many little underground streams as well. It likes watery places , and finds those that water is not evident to the eye. It also has properties useful for divination concerns.At the moment the exact application of this plant for this purpose is not certain, but logically it would be either through the seed dispersal system or with the stems, similar to the way Yarrow stalks are used for I Ching type divinations in constructing the hexegram.

[harpnfiddle.livejournal.com]

you should come to my place when my Queen-of-the-Prairie blooms. Stunning in a pink sort of way.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Interesting name :) Hm, maybe we could have study group at your place around its bloom time? Worth a shot anyway.