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Ranunculaceae FAMILY

Thalictrum thalictroides

Thalictrum thalictroides

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

Although no reports of toxicity have been seen for this species, it belongs to a family that contains many toxic species. The toxins are not normally fairly mild in effect and they are usually destroyed by thoroughly heating or drying the plant.

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Easily grown in an average, medium, well-drained soil in part shade, it also tolerates deep shade[1]. It prefers a moist, humus-rich light soil[2, 1]. The plant strongly resents any wetness at the roots[3]. A delicate plant for a loose leafy soil in sun or part shade[4]. The plant comes into growth in early spring, dying down and becoming dormant in the summer. Plants dislike any root disturbance, they should be planted in their final positions whilst still young[2]. A greedy plant inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes[5]. Plants are slow to establish, often falling victim to slug predations[3].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in the summer. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out in the spring. Division - this is best done in the autumn by carefully removing pieces from the outside of the clump and growing them on in pots until they are established[2, 3]. Be careful to disturb the main clump as little as possible[2]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Thalictrum+thalictroides>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]KemperCentreForHomeGardeningPlantFinder — Missouri Botanical Garden · http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/ ↩︎Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.
  2. [2]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Perennials. Volumes 1 and 2. — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1991 · ISBN 0-330-30936-9 ↩︎Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
  5. [5]How to Enjoy your Weeds. — Hatfield. A. W. · Frederick Muller Ltd · 1977 · ISBN 0-584-10141-4 ↩︎Interesting reading.
  6. [6]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  7. [7]Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition — Fernald. M. L. · American Book Co.; New York · 1950 · ISBN 0442222505 ↩︎A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
  8. [8]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  9. [9]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. — Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. · Houghton Mifflin Co. · 1990 · ISBN 0395467225 ↩︎A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
  11. [11]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  12. [12]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.