Bot. [L. thalictrum (Pliny), a. Gr. θάλικτρον.] A genus of perennial herbs (N.O. Ranunculaceæ), bearing panicles, corymbs, or racemes of green, white, or yellow flowers, without petals or involucre. There are several species, of which three are British, T. flavum being the Common Meadow Rue; T. aquilegifolium is an Alpine species, known as the Feather Columbine.
1664. Evelyn, Kal. Hort., May (1729), 205. Flowers in Prime,… Prunella, purple Thalictrum.
1741. Compl. Fam.-Piece, II. iii. (ed. 3), 373. Feather few, Thalictrums of several kinds.
1883. Century Mag., Oct., 819/1. I saw the dainty thalictrum, with its clover-like leaves, standing in thickets there, fresh and green.
