Tall Meadow Rue (Thalictrum dasycarpum): white Minnesota wildflowers

Tall Meadow Rue

Plant Info
Also known as:	Purple Meadow Rue
Scientific name:	Thalictrum dasycarpum
Family:	Buttercup (Ranunculaceae)
Life cycle:	perennial
Origin:	native
Habitat:	sun to part shade; moist soil, edges of woods, thickets, meadows, along shores
Bloom season:	late spring to early summer
Plant height:	2 to 8 feet
USDA PLANTS database:	Minnesota county distribution map
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Long Lake Regional Park Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park

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Flower:: Male and female flowers are usually on separate plants. Flowers of both sexes are petal-less and about 1/3 inch across, with 4 to 6 greenish-white sepals that may drop off early. The female flowers have what looks like about 10 thread-like white petals. These are pistils, rather than petals.
Male flowers have about 12 dangling white to greenish stamens with pale yellow tips that turn brown with maturity. For both sexes, flowers are in large open clusters on the upper branches of the plant.
Leaves and stem:: Leaves are twice compound in groups of 3. Leaflets are about 1 inch long and are asymetrical at the rounded base. Most are lobed in 3 parts, with a point at the tip of each lobe. Leaf color is blue-green and leaves are hairy on the underside. The main stem is purple to varying degrees.
Fruit:: Seed capusules are about ¼ inch long, green and generally egg-shaped with distinct vertical veins and a brown stub of a pistil at the top.