Long stamens dangle and wave in the breeze, identifying this as a male plant. As the species name implies, this species has dioecious flowers (from Greek meaning “two houses”): that is, it bears male and female flowers on separate plants. The female flowers are little upright greenish clusters, but the male flowers are more common and more charming. In spite of the common name, Early Meadow Rue seems to prefer woods to meadows; this one was growing on a rocky hillside in the Squaw Run valley in Fox Chapel, where it was blooming in late April.
Gray describes the genus and the species:
THALÍCTRUM [Tourn.] L. MEADOW RUE. Sepals 4-5,
petal-like or greenish, usually caducous. Petals none.
Achenes 4-15, grooved or ribbed, or else inflated.
Stigma unilateral. Seed suspended. — Perennials, with
alternate 2-3-ternately compound leaves, the divisions
and the leaflets stalked; petioles dilated at base.
Flowers in corymbs or panicles, often polygamous or
dioecious. (A Greek name of an unknown plant,
mentioned by Dioscorides.)
Flowers dioecious or polygamous.
Achenes sessile or subsessile, thin-walled, the ribs
often connected by transverse reticulations; leaves
3-4-ternate.
Filaments capillary, soon drooping; petioles of the
stem-leaves well developed; vernal.
T. dioicum L. (EARLY M.) Smooth and pale or
glaucous, 3-6 dm. high; leaves (2-3) all with general
petioles; leaflets thin, light green, drooping,
suborbicular, 3-7-lobed; flowers dioecious; sepals
purplish or greenish white. — Rocky woods, etc.,
centr. Me., westw. and southw., common. Apr., May.
