Early Meadow Rue

Thalictrum dioicum grows from 30 to 80 cm tall, from upright caudex, with yellow-gold colored - thick fibrous roots. New caudexes are generated each year by the current years plant and the old caudex withers away in the fall and early spring of the next year. In early spring plants grow, producing glabrous or glandular leaves. both basal and cauline leaves are produced that have long petioles. Leaf blades are 1-4×-ternately compound with leaflets reniform or cordate to obovate or orbiculate in shape. The leaflets are 10-45 mm wide with lobed margins often crenate, and the undersides are normally glabrous or glandular. Inflorescences are panicles or corymbs produced terminally and axillary with many flowered branches. The flowers have no petals but have greenish colored, 1.8-4mm long sepals sometimes tinted purple. The sepals are ovate to obovate or oval in shape. On male plants, the flower filaments are the most showy part of the hanging flowers, being yellow to greenish yellow in color and 3.5-5.5 mm long.