General:
Perennial herb from a rhizome; stems erect, slender, 30-100 cm tall, simple or branched above, smooth.

Leaves:
Mostly stem leaves, alternate, the basal and stem leaves stalked, (2-) 3-times 3-parted, the leaflets thin, green and smooth above, paler and glandular-hairy below, circular to egg- or heart-shaped, 10-20 mm long, the tips round-toothed; upper stem leaves unstalked.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of few-flowered, axillary racemes, the bracts leaf-like, large, the flowers bisexual, the flower stalks erect in flower, curved near tip in fruit; petals absent; sepals 5, whitish or greenish, often purplish-tinged, elliptic, 2-3.5 mm long; stamens 12-20, the filaments whitish, more or less club-shaped, 3-4.5 mm long, the anthers 0.5-0.8 mm long.

Fruits:
Achenes, 6-12, spreading to reflexed, obliquely egg-shaped to half diamond-shaped, outer margin straight, 5-6 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, strongly flattened, minutely glandular-hairy, strongly 3- to 5-veined on each side, stalks 0.3-1.5 mm long; beaks 1-1.5 mm long, straight.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Thalictrum sparsiflorum var. richardsonii (A. Gray) B. Boivin