"Geum triflorum", prairie smoke, three-flowered avens, or old man's whiskers, is a spring blooming perennial, herbaceous plant of North America from northern Canada to California and east to New York. The flowers bloom from mid-spring to early summer.

Prairie smoke has pinnately divided leaves with 7–17 primary leaflets; there are also a few smaller secondary leaflets inserted between some of the primary leaflets. They are arranged in a rosette at ground level and are semi-evergreen; some basal leaves remain over the winter and often turn reddish purple.

The flowers appear on short reddish purple-tinged stems 15 to 41 cm (6 to 16 in) high and are arranged in umbels of 3 to 5 flowers. At the base of the umbel are leaflike green to reddish purple bracts. While blooming, the flowers nod downwards and remain mostly closed and bud-like, except for a tiny opening at the bottom. The five petals are cream to yellowish, suffused with pink or purple, but are mostly covered by the five red sepals.

Pollinated flowers turn upwards and open up. The pistils in the middle of the flower develop into heads of seeds with long fuzzy hairs that point upwards. The hairs resemble mauve smoke, hence the name.

The species prefers to grow in dry, well-drained soils in full sun in most of its native range. It prefers cool summer climates, but it is intolerant of wet soils during the winter.

More Info: en.m.wikipedia.org