''Filipendula'' is a genus of 12 species of perennial

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

flowering plants in the family

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

, native to the temperate regions of the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

. Well-known species include meadowsweet (''

Filipendula ulmaria ''Filipendula ulmaria'', commonly known as meadowsweet or mead wort, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows. It is native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia (Near east and Middle east). It has ...

'') and dropwort (''

Filipendula vulgaris ''Filipendula vulgaris'', commonly known as dropwort or fern-leaf dropwort, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Rosaceae, closely related to meadowsweet (''Filipendula ulmaria''). It is found in dry pastures across much of Europe an ...

''), both native to Europe, and queen-of-the-forest (''

Filipendula occidentalis ''Filipendula'' is a genus of 12 species of perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the family Rosaceae, native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Well-known species include meadowsweet (''Filipendula ulmaria'') and dropwort ( ...

'') and queen-of-the-prairie (''

Filipendula rubra ''Filipendula rubra'', also known as queen-of-the-prairie, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae native to the northeastern and central United States and southeastern Canada. It prefers full sun or partial shade and moist soil, b ...

''), native to North America. The species grow to between 0.5–2 m tall, with large inflorescences of small five-petalled flowers, creamy-white to pink-tinged in most species, dark pink in ''F. rubra''. ''Filipendula'' fruit are unusual, sometimes described as an indehiscent follicle, or as an

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

. ''Filipendula'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species: emperor moth, grey pug,

grizzled skipper ''Pyrgus'' is a genus in the skippers butterfly family, Hesperiidae, known as the grizzled skippers. The name "checkered" or "chequered skipper" may also be applied to some species, but also refers to species in the genera '' Burnsius'' and '' ...

, Hebrew character, lime-speck pug,

mottled beauty The mottled beauty (''Alcis repandata'') is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. Subspecies and forms Subspecies and forms include: *''Alcis repan ...

and the satellite have all been recorded on meadowsweet. The species were in the past sometimes treated in a broad view of the genus '' Spiraea'', but genetic research has shown that they are less closely related than previously considered. The genus name ''Filipendula'' derives from the Latin words "thread" and "hanging", referring to the tubers of '' F. vulgaris'', which are attached to one other by thread-like roots.

References

External links

* * Rosoideae Rosaceae genera Taxa named by Philip Miller {{Rosoideae-stub