Cooley's Meadow-rue
Thalictrum cooleyi
Found in swamps; pine savannas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 6 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet

Federally endangered. Excluded from routine garden suggestions. Consult conservation guidance before obtaining or planting this species. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- June to July
- Fruiting season
- August to October
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 1 Florida county.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 153 animals.
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Great EgretArdea alba
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Mississippi KiteIctinia mississippiensis
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern WaterthrushSeiurus noveboracensis
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus
- Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- Swallow-tailed KiteElanoides forficatus
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
- Yellow-crowned Night-heronNyctanassa violacea
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
- American Black DuckAnas rubripes
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-bellied Whistling-DuckDendrocygna autumnalis
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- LimpkinAramus guarauna
- Northern ShovelerAnas clypeata
- Orchard OrioleIcterus spurius
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Thalictrum
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
- Papilio cresphontesEastern Giant Swallowtail
- Xanthotype sospetaCrocus Geometer
- Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
1BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Thalictrum
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Thalictrum
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
- Flower color
- White, yellow or green
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- October
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late June to early July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White, yellow or green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “Up to about 6 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Cooley's Meadow rue
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G1 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Endangered (US Fish and Wildlife Service) |
Conservation source Global rank source Federal status source: US Fish and Wildlife Service
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























