Thalictrum alpinum : Alpine Meadow Rue

Scientific Name:

Kingdom: Plantae

Division:

• Tracheophyta (vascular)
• Spermatophyta (seed bearing)
Angiospermae (enclosed seed)

Class: Dicoteldonae (two seed-leaves)

Family: Ranunculaceae (Crowfoot/Buttercup Family)

Genera: Thalictrum (Meadow Rue) (Gk. thallo= to grow green; referring to the bright green shoots)

Species: alpinum (Lat. alpie= the Alps, alpine; referring to the mountainous habitat of this species)

English Name(s):

Alpine Meadow Rue, Arctic Meadow Rue

First Nation Names:

Structure:

• Plant tufted, herbaceous (not woody) with colourless acrid (bitter) juice.
• Stems 8-20cm high, very thin, scapose (leafless) or rarely with one leaf.
• From elongate rhizomes (rootstock.

Leaves:

• 2-3 times ternately compound.
• Basal leaves dark green and glossy as if varnished above, blue-green below.
• Leaflets 3-8mm long, fan-shaped.

Reproductive Parts:

• Inflorescense (flower cluster) a small, simple, few-flowered raceme.
• Flowers perfect (bisexual) and of regular symmetry.
• Sepals 4-5, petaloid, purplish tinged, promptly deciduous (falling off).
• Petals lacking.
• Anthers (male parts) bright yellow, nodding on slender filaments (stalks).
• Ovaries superior (above floral parts).

Seed:

• Fruit is an achene.
• Achenes 2.0-3.5mm long, sessile (stalkless) or nearly so.

Not to Be Confused With:

• Thalictrum sparsiflorum (Few-flowered Meadow Rue) much taller than T.alpinum (Alpine Meadow Rue).
• Thalicrum venulosum (Vieny Meadow Rue) also much taller than T.alpinum (Alpine Meadow Rue).

Physiology:

• These plants are wind pollinated.
The anthers are at the end of long thin fillaments so that the pollen can be shakened out by the wind.
• Studies have found that riploid plants of this species had 50% higher rates of photosynthesis, reflected much less light and produced 50% more leaves each with many more leaflets than normal diploid specimens in identical conditions.

Life Cycle:

• Perennial

Seasonal Cycle:

• plants deciduous from rootstock.
• Finished bloooming by mid to late July.

Animal Uses:

Habitat:

• Alpine herbmats.
• Like calcareous soils.

Modern:

Industrial:

Medicinal:

Food:

Traditional Gwich'in:

Folklore:

Industrial:

Medicinal:

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Traditional Other:

Folklore:

Industrial:

Medicinal:

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