|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
|||||||||
| THE BUTTERCUP FAMILY | |||||||||
| The buttercup family is common in temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere. These plants are usually herbs, but may also be vines or shrubs. The stems do not have spines or prickles. The stem leaves are alternate or occasionally opposite or whorled. The leaves can be simple or compound but are at least lobed in the majority of species. The margins may be entire or toothed. The flowers are in several different types of clusters, from solitary flowers to branched, unbranched or umbrella-like groups. The flowers are commonly lacking petals and have coloured sepals. One to several whorls of bracts may be present below the flowers. The ovary consists of several separate carpels which mature to form an aggregate fruit or berry. The aggregates may be of pods or of single-seeded fruits that resemble seeds. | |||||||||
| WESTERN MEADOWRUE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Thalictrum occidentale var. occidentale | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Western meadowrue grows as tall as 120 cm from thin, yellow to black fibrous roots and rhizomes. The leaves are divided into threes three or four times. The leaves are not distinctly veined and the leaflets are round to heart-shaped. The inflorescences are branched, with all of the branches of approximately the same length. The male flowers have purplish filaments while the female flowers have purplish stigmas. Both types of flowers have whitish, greenish, or purplish-tinged sepals and no petals. The fruits are one-seeded and are strongly 3-veined. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Western meadowrue grows in meadows, thickets, and swamps. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland and Mixed Grassland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Western meadowrue is threatened because of rarity in Saskatchewan. It is regionally restricted to the southwestern portion of the province. Some local populations are small and some larger. Possible threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY WESTERN MEADOWRUE | |||||||||
| * Are the leaves divided into threes three or four
times? * Are the filaments purplish? * Are the flowers of two types: male and female? * Did you find it in southwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found western meadowrue! | |||||||||
