Early meadow-rue

This herbaceous plant of eastern North America grows in shady forest understories and reaches about 30 to 80 cm tall. Early meadow-rue has upright stems, and its fine, delicate foliage often brings ferns to mind.

The leaves grow alternately along the stem and measure 10 to 20 cm long, including the petiole. Each leaf is divided into three oval leaflets, 1 to 4 cm long, with mostly smooth edges that can be faintly toothed. The leaflets are a fresh, light green and are generally not noticeably hairy, unlike those of hairy meadow-rue.

The flowers have no petals. Instead, they form airy clusters of slender blooms with dangling stamens or pistils. Gathered into broad, feather-light panicles, they can look almost cloudlike.

The fruit is an achene, a dry fruit that does not split open when ripe. Each flower produces several achenes, and each achene contains a single seed. The seeds are small (3 to 4 mm), ridged, and range from light to dark brown at maturity.