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 (F. ulmaria) and Dropwort (F. vulgaris), both native to Europe, and Queen-of-the-forest (F. occidentalis) and Queen-of-the-prairie (F. rubra), 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 species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species: Emperor Moth, Grey Pug, Grizzled Skipper, Hebrew Character, Lime-speck Pug, Mottled Beauty 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.
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Last updated on Monday June 23, 2008 at 07:51:19 PDT (GMT -0700)
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