04 Sep Not A Weed Wednesday – Three-Flowered Avens
Posted at 08:00h
in Chewing Cud
Three-flowered Avens (Geum trilorum)
Native to the Special Areas and also known as Old Man’s Whiskers or Prairie Smoke, this attractive perennial is known for its reddish-purple, bell-shaped flowers that hang in groups of three.
The 6 to 18-inch-tall plant has foot-wide, basal clumps of ferny, blue-green hairy leaves. The leaves of prairie smoke turn deep red in fall or are sometimes evergreen.
After fertilization, the bell-like flowers turn upwards and grey feathery plumes form on the seeds. This process gave rise to the other names this native species is known by: Prairie Smoke and Old Man’s Whiskers.
Contact a Special Areas Rangeland Agrologist for more information on optimal range health and grazing on native grasslands.
