Rue anemone is a native wildflower in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), native to Eastern and central North America. It is found growing in low-lying mesic to dry deciduous woodlands and slopes. The genus name comes from the Greek word thaliktron, which was a name used by Dioscorides to describe a plant in this genus. The specific epithet is Latin, referring to the leaves looking similar to meadow rue. This wildflower grows 4 to 8 inches tall and prefers part shade to shade in acidic, moist to dry loose humus-rich soils. Seeds may be slow to germinate and will need some cold treatment prior to planting in spring. Most growth occurs in spring with attractive flowers and leaves. The plant will often die back in the summer. The flowers produce pollen but no nectar and are visited by bees. Native bees nest in the dead, hollow stems, so gardeners are encouraged to cut back dead stems to 12 to 24 inches and allow them to remain standing until they disintegrate on their own. Read more about best practices for stem-nesting bees in this NC Extension publication . Use rue anemone in groups in a woodland or shade garden or naturalized areas. It will help attract pollinators looking for pollen in the native shady garden. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious problems.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
Less than 12 inches
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 4 in. - 0 ft. 8 in. | Width: 0 ft. 4 in. - 0 ft. 8 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
5 - Groundcover (<1 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Green; Purple/Lavender
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Rosulate; Whorled
Leaf shape
Oblong; Obovate
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaf size
< 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Compound leaves appear as a whor of threel at the base, each with 3 leaflets. Sometimes, a whorl of leaves will be produced partway up the stem also. Leaflets are 1 to 1.5 inches long and 1 inch across, obovate, or broadly oblong. They are green to purplish-green on the upper surface and light green on the undersurface with a conspicuous network of veins. Margins have 3 blunt lobes.
Flower color
Pink; White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Umbel
Flower shape
Cup
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
The white to pink-tinged flowers appear in a loose cluster of 1 to 5 flowers above the leaves in early spring. They have 5 to 10 sepals with many yellow-green stamens and are 1/2 to 1 inch across.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Green
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit detail
Green fruit displays from May to June.
Stem color
Brown/Copper; Red/Burgundy
Stem detail
Stems are often reddish-brown
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Eastern and Central North America
Distribution
Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Rhode I., South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin
Wildlife value
This plant attracts moths, mammals, and several types of bees. Dead stems are used by stem-nesting bees.
Attracts
Bees; Moths; Small Mammals
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Summer
Fruit type
Achene
Uses (ethnobotany)
Possible usage as an herbal medicine
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Meadow; Naturalized Area; Slope/Bank; Small Space; Walkways; Woodland
Landscape theme
Native Garden; Pollinator Garden; Rock Garden; Shade Garden