Fendler’s Meadow-Rue – Thalictrum fendleri

Fendler’s Meadow-rue is native to North America and found across the Western States. It is a perennial herb in the Butttercup family. The plant is common but found primarily in elevations up to 10,000 feet in shady moist soil. It is a common plant in regions with Aspens, Ponderosa Pines, Spruce and other coniferous plants.
Thalictrum fendleri has slender erect stems that may reach from 1 to 3 feet in height that may be green to purple. Leaves arrive after bloom time and are bluish green, deeply lobed, compound and held alternately on the stem. Flowers appear in panicles, loose clusters at the ends of the stems. The male and female flowers are on separate plants. The blooms have no true petals but a calyx of 4 sepals in a greenish purple hue. Male flowers also have dangling threadlike greenish white to purple stamens which are quite showy en masse. Female flowers become clusters of fruits that originate in a bright pink color but turn brown at maturity. Each cluster may hold up to 20 fruits with distinctive vertical ridging.
Fendler’s Meadow-rue is found in mesic, moist soil, often in woodland but also pastureland and disturbed soils.

Descriptions

• Seedlings - No information.
• Stems - Slender, round, wiry
• Leaves - Compound, divided
• Flowers - No true petals, creamy green to purple sepals, yellow anthers
• Fruits - Clusters of oval vertically ridged capsules
• Seeds - No information.
• Roots - No information.

Plant Details

• Type - Perennial
• USDA Zones - 3 to 8
• Flower Colors - Green to purple
• Plant Height - 1 to 3 feet tall
• Plant Width - No information.
• Bloomtime Period - Early spring
• Native Habitat - Western North America, Northern Mexico
• Toxicity and allergic reactions - No information.
• What Parts Toxic - No information.
• Toxic to humans - No information.
• Toxic to cats - No information.
• Toxic to dogs - No information.
• Edible - Yes for Cows and Sheep
• Edible Parts - Leaves and Stems
• Spacing - No information.
• Planting Depth - No information.
• Invasive - No information.
• Special Features - No information.

Growing Information

• Light Requirement - Shade to partial shade
• Soil Requirements - Mesic, Moist, Well draining
• Care Information - No information.
• Propagation Methods - Seed
• Harvest Information - No information.
• Seed Collection Information - No information.
• Pruning - No information.
• Common Pests - No information.
• Common Diseases - No information.
• Landscape Uses - No information.

Facts & Trivia