The caudex has dried persistent bracts from the growth of previous years. The alternate, compound leaves have long stalks. Flowers have no petals and are in loose, open panicles. Early meadowrue has a shallowly rooted caudex. Foliage dies back to this rootstock each winter and resprouts in spring.
Fruits are achenes with no special dispersal mechanisms.
Most likely, the dry fruits drop near the parent plants unless they are consumed. There is no information on the effects of animal digestive tracts on seed survival. It flowers with or before the expansion of leaves on deciduous trees. Leaves are maintained throughout summer. Early meadowrue is a component of deciduous forests that abutt prairies.