June 



Roadsides, woods, 

 ditches 



TALL MEADOW-RUE 



Thalictcum revolutum Muhl. 



Meadow-rue is a wind-i)ollinato(l plant whose tall 

 .^teiiis li.old their llull'v ))luines of cream-white 

 (lower.- liiuh al)Ove most other ve^etatiou in the 

 tall uiowth of iiiid-.hine. '{'he tlower stems fjrow 

 from a rounded mass oT dark ^reen leallets which look inueh like a coarse 

 maideidiair IVin ; the leaves are almost as heautit'ul as llowers. Then in 

 late May troui this tul't of leaves there p-ow tall. lii)rous, leafy .«tems 

 which often reach .1 hei<iht of live or six feet if the surronnding vegeta- 

 tion is tall, and here, on a line day in dune, the small huds open. 

 There are hoth staminat<' and justillate llowers. the former the llulfier and 

 more delicate, with dan,<rlin<: white stamens. They prodmv great (pian- 

 tities of ])ollen which is hlown hy the wind to other meadow-nie plants 

 to make svv*\ formation possihle. 



Meadow-rue gi'ows in deep wooils as well as in 

 where the sun comes in and the winds hlow freely across the pollen-laden 

 llowers. Sometimes meadow-rue is found in the shadowy oak woods 

 wlK're dune leaves make heavy shade; .sometimes it is found along <\ 

 road whose ditch is moist and the roots of the plant are plentifully fed 

 with moisture. But most often, jn'rhaps, meadow-rue is found in an open, 

 woodsy place, not too shady, not too dry, not too wet. where sweet william 

 hlooms in spring and the hrown thrasher nests in a neai'hy thorn hush 

 when .Tune is on the land. 



The eai'ly mead;)w-rue (Tholirfnin} dinicuni) is a smaller plant 

 which is not more than two feet tall. It has more delicate foliage than 



)lue-grass glade.s 



the ahove species and is to he found on wooded hillside 

 month earlier than the taller sjiecies. 



It flowers a 



158 



