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Thalictrum aquilegiifolium

Common name:		Family:	Ranunculaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	50, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The whole plant is poisonous, particularly the root[13].
Range:	E. and C. Europe to Asia.
Habitat:	Damp woods, hedges and rich upland meadows of the lower Alps, often in stony places near glaciers[13].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	T. aquilegifolium[B,DUTCH,E,H,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Akeleiruit [D], Columbine Meadow-rue [B], Columbine Meadowrue [P], Greater Meadow-rue [L],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ranunculales. Buttercup family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m by 0.45m . It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from May to July, and the seeds ripen from July to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects and wind. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Root.

Root - raw or roasted[22, 46, 61]. Caution is advised, there is one report that suggests that the root is particularly poisonous[13].
Young leaves - cooked[105]. Caution is advised, they are possibly poisonous.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Cytostatic.

Cytostatic[65].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most fairly good soils in sun or semi-shade[1, 111]. Prefers a humus rich soil[111].
A very ornamental plant[1], it is hardy to about -25°c[187].
Grows well on a woodland edge[188].
A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes[54].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame[K]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
The seed can also be sown in an outdoor seedbed in spring[111]. Plant them into their permanent positions the following spring.
Division in spring as new growth commences or in the autumn[111]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the summer or the following spring.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[L] Scientific and Common Names (some photos) from Lepidoptera and some other life forms
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Thalictrum aquilegifolium (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Ranunculaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[22] Sholto-Douglas. J. Alternative Foods.
Not very comprehensive, it seems more or less like a copy of earlier writings with little added.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
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.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[54] Hatfield. A. W. How to Enjoy your Weeds. Frederick Muller Ltd 1977 ISBN 0-584-10141-4
Interesting reading.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. 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.

[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to 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.

[111] Sanders. T. W. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge 1926
A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. 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.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. 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.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

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