5 THE LADIES' FLOWER-GARDEN 
turned back, as to be very little seen. The flowers are disposed in corymbose panicles, with little stipules at the 
base of each fork of the panicle. The stem is hollow, and generally of a dark purple colour, covered with a kind 
of mealy bloom. The leaves are tri-pinnate or tri-temate. The caryopsides are three-sided, with wings on the 
angles ; and they hang, when nearly ripe, on rather long foot-stalks. The species is a native of Germany, and 
other parts of central Europe, where it is found generally on woody hills. It was introduced in 1731. It is 
quite hardy in British gardens ; but the stems die down to the ground every winter, and should be cut ofiF. The 
plant is propagated by seeds, or by dividing the root in spring. It should be planted in a dry, but somewhat 
shaded situation, and it grows from one foot to three feet high, flowering from May to July. The feathery 
Columbine was known to the Greeks and Romans, and dedicated to Bacchus ; and it was thought lucky to lay a 
newly-born child on a pillow stufied with its flowers, as it was supposed to ensure richness to the child through life. 
2.— THALICTRUM FLAVUM Smith. THE COMMON MEADOW RUE. 
Engravings. — Eng. Bot. t. 367 ; 2nd edit. t. 775. I Leaves bi-pinnate ; leaflets broadly ovate, or wedge-ehaped, trifij. 
Specific Characteii Stem erect, branched, furrowed, leafy. | Panicle compact, sub-corymbose. Flowers erect, {Smith.) 
Description, &c. — The common Meadow Rue has an upright, compact panicle of yellow flowers ; and 
deeply-cut leaflets. It is a native of Britain, and grows two or three feet high in osier-beds or wet meadows, or 
on the banks of rivers or ditches. It flowers in June and July. The stem is hollow and furrowed ; and the 
root, which is fibrous, ia sometimes used to dye wool yellow. The whole plant is extremely acrid, and the 
country people use the bruised leaves as a blister. This species is seldom grown in gardens, though it is 
certainly ornamental. 
3.— THALICTRUM AMENONOIDES Mich. THE ANEMONE-LIKE THALICTRUM. 
Synonyme. — Anemone thalictroides Lin. 
Engravings. — Bot. Mag. t. 866 ; Swt. Brit. Flow. Oard., 2d Ber. 
t. 150; Lodd. Bot. Cab. t. 770. 
Specific Character. — Flowers produced in umbels. Sepals longor 
than the stamens. Leaves bi-ternate, leaflets roundish ; floral leaved 
resembling an involucre. Roots tuberous. 
Description, &c. — This species is a very puzzling one. Its flowers, particularly when double, are very much 
like those of the wood anemone, and the whole appearance of the plant resembles that of the flowers belonging 
to that genus. There are generally eight sepals, which are white, and mu6h longer than the stamens, and which 
are roundish and somewhat concave. The leaves are small, but in shape they resemble those of the Columbine ; 
and two or three of them are united at a little distance below the flower, so as to form a kind of involucre, just 
as is the case with the anemones. The roots are also tuberous. It is true that this plant differs from the 
anemones in its sepals falling off very soon after their expansion, leaving on, the stamens, which in their naked 
state make the flowers look very like those of the meadow rues. The carpels are also completely those of the 
genns Thalictrum. The species is a native of the whole of North America, as it is found in every part of that 
country, from Virginia to Canada. It was introduced into England in 1768 ; and, as it is quite hardy and 
flowers abundantly, it is a very useful border plant in British gardens. It is also very useful for filling a bed in 
a geometrical flower-garden, from its dwarf stature, which seldom exceeds six inches, and its compact habit of 
gwwth. 
