Western sweetroot is an erect woodland perennial in the carrot family. It has dark-green, divided leaves all the way up the stem topped with a delicate, flat-topped flower heads with many small, yellowish flowers. The seeds ripen into black, needle-shaped seeds while the leaves are still green and full, making it an outstanding plant for a woodland garden.

Tall meadowrue is found it mixed forests, oak woodlands, and along streams in shaded moist forests. It is a striking plant growing over 6 feet tall with bluish columbine-like leaves that stay green until late-summer then turn yellow in autumn. The plants have separate male and female flowering stalks.