RANUNCULACEAE. 



[Vox,. II. 



5. Thalictrum venulosum Trelease. 

 Veiny Meadow-Rue. (Fig. 1636.) 



Thalictrum venulosum Trelease, Proc. Bost. Soc. 



Nat. Hist. 23: 302. 1886. 

 T. campestre Greene, Erythea, 4: 123. 1896. 



Glabrous, pale green and glaucous, stem pur- 

 plish, erect, or assurgent at the base, 6 / -2 tall. 

 Leaves 3-4-ternate, long-petioled ; leaflets firm, 

 obovate or suborbicular, rounded at the apex, 

 cuneate, obtuse or subcordate at the base, 4 // -8 /A 

 long, 3-5-lobed, the lower surface rather promi- 

 nently rugose- veined; panicle narrow, it& 

 branches nearly erect; flowers dioecious; sta- 

 mens 8-20; filaments slender; anthers linear, 

 slender-pointed; achenes ovoid, nearly sessile, 

 tapering into a short beak, thick-walled, 2 -edged. 



In dry soil, Manitoba and South Dakota to the 

 Northwest Territory and Washington, south to Col- 

 orado. May-June. 



6. Thalictrum purpurascens 

 Purplish Meadow-Rue. 

 (Fig. 1637.) 



L. 



Thalictrum purpurascens L. Sp. PI. 546. 1753. 

 Thalictrum pit r put ascens var. ceriferum Aus- 

 tin; A. Gray, Man. Ed. 5, 39. 1867. 

 Stout, erect, 4-7 high, leafy, branching 

 above, glandular, pubescent or even glabrous; 

 leaves 3-4-ternate; leaflets 'thick, oblong or 

 obovate, dark green above, commonly waxy 

 beneath, with revolute margins, and 3 main 

 apical pointed lobes; panicle compound, leafy, 

 i long or more; flowers polygamous; fila- 

 ments narrow, slightly widened above; an- 

 thers linear or linear-oblong, cuspidate; 

 stigma linear, persistent; achenes ovoid, 

 glabrous or pubescent, short-stipitate, with 

 6-8 longitudinal wings. 



In copses and woodlands, Nova Scotia and 

 Anticosti to Florida, wt-st to the Saskatchewan 

 and Arizona. Stems often purplish. Ascends 

 to 6000 ft. in North Carolina. June-Aug. 



7. Thalictrum polygamum Muhl. Tall 

 Meadow-Rue. (Fig. 1638.) 



Thalictrum polygamum Muhl. Cat. 54. 1813. 

 Thalictrum Cornuti T. & G. Fl. N. A. x: 38. 1838. 

 Not L. 1753- 



Stout, 3-i i high, branching, leafy, smooth or 

 pubescent but not glandular nor waxy. Leaves 

 3-4-ternate; leaflets moderately thick, light 

 green above and paler beneath, oblong, obovate 

 or orbicular, with 3 main apical pointed or obtuse 

 lobes; panicle compound, leafy, a foot long or 

 more; flowers polygamous, white; filaments, 

 broadened; anthers oblong, short; achenes ovoid, 

 stipitate, 6-8-winged, glabrous or pubescent. 



Labrador and Quebec to Florida, west to Ohio. 

 Its favorite habitat is in open sunny swamps, 

 blooming one to four weeks later than T. purpur- 

 ascens. The two species are easily distinguishable 

 in the field; less easily in herbarium specimens, the 

 characters being similar and variable. Ascends to 

 2500 ft. in Virginia. 



