Thalictrum alpinumL.

alpine meadow-rue

WFO wfo-0000456250 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Thalictrum alpinum, photographed by Jens-Christian Svenning
fig. a Jens-Christian Svenning, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-07-25 / obs. 146205983
Thalictrum alpinum, photographed by Jens-Christian Svenning
fig. b Jens-Christian Svenning, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 145942372
Thalictrum alpinum, photographed by Martin Purdy
fig. c Martin Purdy, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 152807996
Thalictrum alpinum, photographed by Syd Cannings
fig. d Syd Cannings, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 137277867
Thalictrum alpinum, photographed by Cecelia Alexander
fig. e Cecelia Alexander, CC0 1.0 / obs. 85542569
Thalictrum alpinum, photographed by Rose Zappa
fig. f Rose Zappa, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 47288035
Thalictrum alpinum, photographed by Christian Berg
fig. g Christian Berg, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 77841793
Thalictrum alpinum, photographed by Todd Boland
fig. h Todd Boland, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 112626980

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 66 botanical countries

Regions where Thalictrum alpinum is native: Afghanistan, Altay, Buryatiya, China South-Central, Chita, Inner Mongolia, Irkutsk, Japan, Kamchatka, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Kirgizstan, Krasnoyarsk, Kuril Is., Magadan, Mongolia, North Caucasus, Sakhalin, Tadzhikistan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Tuva, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, East Himalaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Austria, East European Russia, Finland, Føroyar, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, North European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Alaska, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Greenland, Idaho, Labrador, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Oregon, Québec, Utah, Wyoming, Yukon AfghanistanAltayBuryatiyaChina South-CentralChitaInner MongoliaIrkutskJapanKamchatkaKazakhstanKhabarovskKirgizstanKrasnoyarskMagadanMongoliaNorth CaucasusSakhalinTadzhikistanTibetTranscaucasusTuvaUzbekistanWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaEast HimalayaMyanmarNepalPakistanVietnamWest HimalayaAustriaEast European RussiaFinlandFranceIcelandIrelandItalyNorth European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandRomaniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandAlaskaBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoGreenlandIdahoLabradorMontanaNevadaNew MexicoNewfoundlandNorthwest TerritoriesOregonQuébecUtahWyomingYukon Føroyar
Native distribution of Thalictrum alpinum, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Altay ALT
Buryatiya BRY
China South-Central CHC
Chita CTA
Inner Mongolia CHI
Irkutsk IRK
Japan JAP
Kamchatka KAM
Kazakhstan KAZ
Khabarovsk KHA
Kirgizstan KGZ
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Kuril Is. KUR
Magadan MAG
Mongolia MON
North Caucasus NCS
Sakhalin SAK
Tadzhikistan TZK
Tibet CHT
Transcaucasus TCS
Tuva TVA
Uzbekistan UZB
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
Austria AUT EUROPE
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
Føroyar FOR
France FRA
Great Britain GRB
Iceland ICE
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
North European Russia RUN
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Romania ROM
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Colorado COL
Greenland GNL
Idaho IDA
Labrador LAB
Montana MNT
Nevada NEV
New Mexico NWM
Newfoundland NFL
Northwest Territories NWT
Oregon ORE
Québec QUE
Utah UTA
Wyoming WYO
Yukon YUK
East Himalaya EHM ASIA-TROPICAL
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM

Not drawn on the map: Kuril Is., Great Britain. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 25 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Thalictrum alpinum f. puberulum W.T.Wang & S.H.Wang
  • Thalictrum alpinum f. setulosinerve (Hara) W.T.Wang
  • Thalictrum alpinum var. acutilobum H.Harain
  • Thalictrum alpinum var. alpinum
  • Thalictrum alpinum var. gaspense Greene
  • Thalictrum alpinum var. hebetum B.Boivin
  • Thalictrum alpinum var. microspermum Greene
  • Thalictrum alpinum var. nesioticum Greene
  • Thalictrum alpinum var. pudicum Greene
  • Thalictrum alpinum var. setulosinerve (H.Hara) W.T.Wang
  • Thalictrum bracteifilum Bertol.
  • Thalictrum cheilanthoides Greene
  • Thalictrum duriusculum Greene
  • Thalictrum elegantulum Greene
  • Thalictrum esquirolii H.Lév. & Vaniot
  • Thalictrum leiophyllum Greene
  • Thalictrum marginatum Royle
  • Thalictrum microphyllum Royle
  • Thalictrum monoense Greene
  • Thalictrum nippono-alpinum Honda
  • Thalictrum nudum H.Lév. & Vaniot
  • Thalictrum scopulorum Greene
  • Thalictrum setulosinerve H.Hara
  • Thalictrum subspensum Greene

and 1 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.