Thalictrum alpinum L.
alpine meadowrue (alpine meadow-rue)
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
alpine meadowrue (alpine meadow-rue)
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from slender rhizomes; stems single, erect or nearly so, (3) 5-25 cm tall; plants smooth and with a whitish bloom.
Leaves:
Usually all basal, sometimes with single stem leaf near base, leathery, pale green above and paler below, 2-10 cm long, 2-times pinnately compound, the leaflets wedge egg-shaped to circular, 2-10 mm long, tips 3- to 5-lobed, margins slightly rolled under.
Flowers:
Inflorescence an elongate, terminal few-flowered raceme, the flowers bisexual; flower stalks slender, curved; petals absent; sepals 4 (5), early deciduous, purple-tinged, egg-shaped or elliptic, 1- 2.3 mm long; stamens 8-15, the filaments purple, threadlike, the anthers bright yellow, 1.5-3 mm long; stigmas purple.
Fruits:
Achenes, 2-6, slightly curved, lance egg-shaped, 2-3.5 mm long, prominently ribbed, unstalked or short-stalked, on fruiting stalks that curve downward.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Thalictrum alpinum
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1384 | 700 | 2375 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
30 | 0 | 120 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
198 | 40 | 320 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 1 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
B | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
22 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BAFA(2), BWBS(5), ESSF(6), ICH(1), MH(1), MS(1), SBS(1), SWB(5) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist to wet meadows, seepage sites and thickets in the subalpine and alpine zones; frequent N of 56degreeN in BC, rare elsewhere; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to UT, NM and CA; Greenland, Iceland, Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Thalictrum alpinum var. alpinum
Thalictrum alpinum var. hebetum B. Boivin