meadow rue

American  

noun

1. any of several plants belonging to the genus Thalictrum, of the buttercup family, having leaves resembling those of rue, especially T. dioicum, of North America.

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meadow rue British  

noun

1. any ranunculaceous plant of the N temperate genus Thalictrum, esp T. flavum, having clusters of small yellowish-green, white, or purple flowers

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Etymology

Origin of meadow rue

First recorded in 1660–70

Example Sentences

Another genus they’ve dug deeply into: Thalictrum, or meadow rue.

From New York Times • Mar. 17, 2021

One shade bed holds Japanese anemone; pink astilbe; and tall, purple meadow rue, which Cathy allows to self-seed each year.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 22, 2019

We descend, wrapped in a towering grove of aspens, the ground a soft green carpet of meadow rue just yellowing at the edges.

From Time Magazine Archive

The meadow rue has shaken out veil upon floating veil in the woodlands.

From Minstrel Weather by Storm, Marian

Smooth and silent was the water and in it were the blue of the sky and the feathery shadow-spires of cedar and tamarack and the reflected blossoms of iris and meadow rue.

From The Light in the Clearing by Bacheller, Irving