EARLY MEADOW-RUE 



by the path is the reason ; at any rate, the plant adorns 

 the open way when permitted. Its graceful foliage is 

 its greatest charm; the leaves are twice or thrice com- 

 pound, suggesting the spray of the Maidenhair fern. 

 The; stems stand in 

 tufts or bunches, 

 and after a rain the 

 leaves, silvery with 

 drops of water, pos- 

 sess an exquisite 

 beauty. The species 

 is dioecious, that is, 

 the stamens and pis- 

 tils are borne on dif- 

 ferent individuals; 

 consequently there 

 are two kinds of blos- 

 soms. 



In early April the 

 staminate plant sends 

 up a stem that at the 

 summit divides and 

 subdivides, bearing 

 numbers of tiny, 

 nodding, greenish 

 yellow tassels, shed- 

 ding pollen in abundance. Each tassel consists of four 

 green sepals, with many yellowish drooping anthers on 

 hair-like filaments. The pistillate flowers are likewise 

 clustered at the summit of a stem and each consists 

 of four to fifteen carpels, but they are stiff and have 

 not the careless grace of their brothers. 



Early Meadow-Rue. Thalictrum dioicum 



79 



