Curtis Botanical – Plate 7152 – Yunnan Meadow Rue / Lavender Shower

Original antique black-and-white botanical print from Curtis's Botanical Magazine — Plate 7152.

Plant: Thalictrum Delavayi (Yunnan Meadow Rue / Lavender Shower). Native to: China (Yunnan / Sichuan).

Named for Père Delavay, a French Jesuit missionary who collected over 200,000 specimens in Yunnan while under genuine danger — one of the most prolific botanical collectors in history. Clouds of lavender-pink flowers on wiry stems; still one of the most planted border perennials in the world.

Printed in London. Each print is an original page removed from a bound volume of Curtis's Botanical Magazine, the world's oldest continuously published botanical journal (founded 1787). Uncolored plate. Sold individually. Minor age-related toning consistent with 19th-century paper.

This plate originated with the Royal Horticultural Society and passed through Wheldon & Wesley, one of the great natural history dealers of the 20th century. We came into the archive by accident and have spent the time since trying to share it as widely as we can.