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Small-leaved Meadow-rue

Thalictrum macrostylum

Found in glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock; freshwater tidal marshes; seeps and springs. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

51
Strong

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 88%

Height
Up to about 6 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Moist to wet
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
May to August

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 10 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Seeps and springs

Weymouth Woods Gum Swamp Trail seep
Groundwater seep. Shown: Gum Swamp Trail, Weymouth Woods, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Weymouth Woods Gum Swamp Trail seep, ncwetlands.org, undated. CC BY 2.0. Source record.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock

Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.

Freshwater tidal marshes

Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 146 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

17CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Thalictrum

  • Calyptra canadensisCanadian Owlet, Meadow Rue Owlet
  • Eosphoropteryx thyatyroidesPink-Patched Looper Moth
  • Eugonobapta nivosariaSnowy Geometer
  • Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
  • Eupithecia satyrataSatyr Pug
  • Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
  • Lacanobia subjunctaSpeckled Arches, Subdues Arches, Harnessed Mamestra, Speckled Cutworm Moth, Grand Arches?(incorrectly)
  • Lithophane unimodaDowdy Pinion
  • Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
Show all 17
  • Papaipema unimodaMeadow Rue Borer, Chain Fern Border Moth
  • Papilio cresphontesEastern Giant Swallowtail
  • Pseudeva purpurigeraStraight-Lined Looper Moth
  • Trichodezia albovittataWhite-Striped Black
  • Xanthotype sospetaCrocus Geometer
  • Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
  • Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Thalictrum

  • Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Ranunculaceae
Flower color
White or green
Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “May to August” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Flower color · “White or green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • 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)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Soil · “Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as

Small leaved Meadow rue

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1
Global rankG3G4
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources