Filipendula is a genus of 12 species of perennial

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

 herbaceous

Herbaceous

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...

 flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

s in the family Rosaceae

Rosaceae

Rosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...

, native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

. Well-known species include Meadowsweet

Meadowsweet

Filipendula ulmaria, commonly known as Meadowsweet, is a perennial herb in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows. It is native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia...

 (F. ulmaria) and Dropwort

Dropwort

Dropwort , also known as Fern-leaf Dropwort, is a perennial herb of the family Rosaceae closely related to Meadowsweet...

 (F. vulgaris), both native to Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, and Queen-of-the-forest (F. occidentalis) and Queen-of-the-prairie

Queen-of-the-prairie

Queen-of-the-prairie may refer to:* Filipendula rubra, a plant* Spiraea lobata, a plant...

 (F. rubra), native to North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

.

The species grow to between 0.5-2 m tall, with large inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

s of small five-petalled flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s, creamy-white to pink-tinged in most species, dark pink in F. rubra.

Filipendula species are used as food plants by the larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

 species: Emperor Moth

Emperor Moth

The Small Emperor Moth is a moth of the family Saturniidae. It is sometimes placed in the genus Saturnia. It occurs throughout the Palearctic region and is the only member of its family to be found in the British Isles....

, Grey Pug

Grey Pug

The Grey Pug is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found throughout the Palearctic region and the Near East.The forewings of this species are grey marked with pale fascia and radial lines which give it a mottled appearance. The hindwings are much paler and plainer. Melanism is quite common in...

, Grizzled Skipper

Grizzled Skipper

The Grizzled Skipper Pyrgus malvae is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family.-Appearance, behaviour and distribution:With its characteristic chequered black and white pattern this butterfly is quite distinctive although old, faded individuals can be mistaken for the Dingy Skipper or the Sideridis...

, Hebrew Character

Hebrew Character

Hebrew Character is a moth species, Orthosia gothica, of the family Noctuidae. It is found throughout Europe.The forewings of this species are greyish to rufous brown. Typically these are marked with a black mark shaped like the Hebrew letter Nun נ). This is similar to the markings of the Setaceous...

, Lime-speck Pug

Lime-speck Pug

The Lime-speck Pug is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a common species throughout the Palearctic region, the Near East and North Africa....

, Mottled Beauty

Mottled Beauty

The Mottled Beauty is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a common species of Europe and the Near East.The wingspan is 32-40 mm. This is an extremely variable species, typically being buff or grey with black bars along the costa, but often with a broad blackish band across the forewings....

 and The Satellite

Satellite (moth)

The Satellite is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout Europe.This is a fairly variable species with greyish or reddish brown forewings, often marked with darker bands. The common name derives from the prominent stigma, ranging in colour from white or yellow to red, which...

 have all been recorded on Meadowsweet.

The species were in the past sometimes treated in a broad view of the genus Spiraea

Spiraea

Spiraea , is a genus of about 80-100 species of shrubs in the family Rosaceae, subfamily Spiraeoideae. They are native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with the greatest diversity in eastern Asia....

, but genetic research has shown that they are less closely related than previously considered.