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Geum triflorum
Also called Prairie Smoke, Purple Avens, Three Flowered Avens, Torchflower, Prairiesmoke, Lionsbeard
Geum triflorum, commonly known as prairie smoke, old man's whiskers, or three-flowered avens, is a spring-blooming perennial herbaceous plant of the Rosaceae family. It is a hemiboreal continental climate species that is widespread in colder and drier environments of western North America, although it does occur in isolated populations as far east as New York and Ontario. It is particularly known for the long feathery plumes on the seed heads that have inspired many of the regional common names and aid in wind dispersal of its seeds.
G. triflorum is widely distributed in North America, but only common in the Upper Midwest and mountainous west. In Canada, it is common from British Columbia to Manitoba. It also grows in parts of the Yukon Territory and Northwest Territory. It is a common prairie species in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. Contiguous with this it is reported in nine of the north-eastern counties in Illinois and eight counties in north-eastern South Dakota. It is recorded in PLANTS as growing in Iowa without a specific location. It is common throughout the prairies of Montana and Wyoming and into the mountains of Idaho, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. It is present in the adjoining Black Hills in South Dakota, the eastern portions of Washington state, Oregon, and the north east mountainous portion of California. Populations are also found in the mountains of northern New Mexico and Arizona.
Prairie smoke is planted in gardens as an ornamental for its interesting seed heads and for the persistent foliage in the winter. It is popular for native gardens, rock gardens, and with gardeners that wish to have an informal natural look. It is also suitable for use as part of green roof plantings because of its tolerance of periods of drought. Plants are winter hardy in USDA zones 3–7 and do not have any serious disease or pest problems. It is planted in either the spring or fall from cultivated plants or by seed. The size is dependent on the richness of the soil. Very lean soils without organic matter will grow compact plants, and in rich soils, the plants will become large and competitive. It is not tolerant of deep shade and can be displaced by taller species which grow over it and deprive it of light.
Geum albiflorum · Yellow avens · Geum borisii · Bulgarian Avens · White avens · Catling's avens · Geum coccineum · Bent avens · Asian Herb Bennet · Rough avens · Coluria longifolia · Largeleaf Avens
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Geum triflorum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
