Geum triflorum var. ciliatum
Synonyms: Erythrocoma ciliata, Geum canescens, Geum ciliatum, Geum triflorum var. canescens, Sieversia canescens, Sieversia ciliata
The photo at right shows
Geum triflorum var. ciliatum as seen at Winter Ridge, Fremont N.F................May
26, 1996.
Prairie smoke is a perennial, often to 30 cm broad, consisting primarily of basal leaves which are compound-pinnate. The blades are from 5-18 cm long and the numerous leaflets are parted or dissected. The blades are covered with long, grayish hairs. The flowering stems are reddish and may be up to 40 cm tall, with a pair of reduced leaves at midstem.
The flowers are terminal, with one to nine flowers in a cyme. The calyx is reddish-purple to pink or yellow in color. The 5 petals are light yellow, white, pink, or red-purple tinged. When in bloom, the flowers nod or arch downward. As the fruits mature, the flower becomes erect. The fruits are elongate, feathery achenes.
Native Americans boiled the roots to make a tea. The plant is an interesting perennial for the rock garden or prairie garden.
Prairie smoke is found in moist sagebrush plains and foothills, to subalpine ridges and talus slopes.
Old man's whiskers may be found on the eastern side of the Cascades from British Columbia south to the Sierra Nevada. It is found eastward to Newfoundland, and south to New York, Illinois, Nebraska, through the Rockies to New Mexico and Nevada.
