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Linnaeus named this genus and species in 1753.  "Thalictrum" is of ancient and unknown Greek origin.

Thalictrum alpinum
Thalictrum alpinum (Alpine Meadowrue)
Synonym
: Thalictraceae (Meadowrue Family).  Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family).

Montane, subalpine, alpine. Wetlands, tundra. Spring, summer.
North of Durango, May 29, 2007.

Thalictrum alpinum is primarily a species of Alaska, northwestern Canada, and the high mountains of the western U.S.  In the Four Corners area it occurs only in a few boggy areas of several counties.

Thalictrum alpinum leaves are scalloped, no more than a half inch in diameter and on stems up to several inches long.  Dried flower stems are arched in the foreground in the top two photographs.

Thalictrum alpinum
Thalictrum alpinum (Alpine Meadowrue)
Synonym
: Thalictraceae (Meadowrue Family).  Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family).

Montane, subalpine, alpine. Wetlands, tundra. Spring, summer.
North of Durango, May 29, 2007.

All three of the photographs on this page were taken near Durango in an area where, as the photograph at left shows, Thalictrum alpinum occurred as a thick ground cover extending over hundreds of square feet.

Thalictrum alpinum
Thalictrum alpinum (Alpine Meadowrue)
Synonym
: Thalictraceae (Meadowrue Family).  Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family).

Montane, subalpine, alpine. Wetlands, tundra. Spring, summer.
North of Durango, May 29, 2007.

Flower stems are up to eight inches long and almost always arched over.

Range map © John Kartesz,
Floristic Synthesis of North America

State Color Key

Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Thalictrum alpinum