Thalictrum delavayi - Meadow-rue

Thalictrum delavayi is an exquisite herbaceous perennial plant with spectacular dimensions and a graceful, light, and elegant silhouette, reminiscent of Gypsophila. With an airy habit, its tall, upright, and branching stems bear delicate green foliage with bluish reflections. In summer, it produces drooping clusters of small mauve flowers with visible butter-yellow stamens.

Thalictrum delavayi, also known as Thalictrum dipterocarpum, is a perennial plant native to the Himalayan region of Asia, from eastern Tibet to western China. It belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. It is found in the wild at high altitudes, in forests, scrublands, and grassy slopes. This meadow rue is an herbaceous perennial with an upright and erect habit, forming a bushy clump, from which flexible stems rise, shaded with dark purple, reaching a height of 1.5 to 2m (5 to 7ft), with a width of 60cm (24in). Its slightly bluish and glaucous green deciduous foliage is finely cut and very light, reminiscent of certain Capillaries. It is composed of pinnate or ternate leaves measuring 15 to 35cm (6 to 14in) long, with entire or trilobed leaflets. From June to August, large loose panicles appear. They are well-branched, terminal and axillary, formed by small star-shaped flowers with four lilac sepals, enhanced by prominent creamy-yellow stamens. They do not like competition from nearby roots so respect a planting distance of 40cm (16in) around its base. Meadow rue is quite slow to establish, but will become increasingly beautiful over time. This species received the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society in 1993.

This meadow rue is the ideal plant to brighten and flower the moist and shaded areas of the garden. With its size, delicate and elegant bluish-green foliage, its airy appearance, and the pretty pastel colours of its inflorescences, it will be perfect to add height and lightness to borders. It will have a beautiful effect in contrast with less delicate perennials, as well as along the edge of shrub borders. It will naturally find its place alongside hostas, hydrangeas, shrub or climbing roses, fuchsias, Japanese anemones, aconites, astilbes, campanulas, alder buckthorn, snowberries, ferns, hellebores, foxgloves, grasses, perennial geraniums, elderberry, and Sacred Bamboo.

The origin of the word Thalictrum is derived from the Greek "thallein", meaning to become green, and "ictar", meaning quickly, in reference to its rapid growth.

Its specific name delavayi was given in honour of Father Jean Marie Delavay (1834-1895), a Christian missionary, who collected one of the largest botanical collections in the Yunnan province of China on behalf of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.