Prairie smoke

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More names for this plant

The Dakota and Anishinaabe were among the earliest people to name Minnesota’s plants and animals, as well as to understand them in relation to Minnesota’s climate and seasons. Those original names are still in use, and several are included on the Season Watch website. However, complete translations were not available.

Latin (or scientific name): Geum triflorum

The scientific community has a convention of assigning agreed-upon Latin names to every kind of organism. Using scientific names helps people communicate confidently about the same organism and organize lifeforms based on how closely related they are.

More common names: Old man's whiskers

Page contents

About prairie smoke

Visual guide to phenology

Graphs and historical data

More resources

Prairie smok amid grassland vegetation. The plant has pink flowers and its seeds resemble plumes of smoke.
Prairie smoke in a grassland setting.
May 19, 2018, Washington County, Minnesota
Photo © birdchick, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)
iNaturalist observation

About prairie smoke

  • Prairie smoke is a native perennial wildflower that grows six to sixteen inches tall.
  • From April to June, it has blossoms with three red, purple, or brown flowers atop a hairy stem.
  • Its leaves grow close to the ground and can be four to eight inches long. The leaves are hairy and divided into seven or more wedge-shaped leaflets.
  • Prairie smoke's fruit is a dry seed attached to a feathery plume. Clusters of these plumes resemble smoke blowing in the wind.
  • It is one of the first prairie flowers to bloom in spring, making it an indicator of the start of Minnesota's growing season.

Visual guide to phenology

Watch for the appearance of leaves, flowers, and fruits. Take notice of when flowers open and fruits ripen.

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Note to observers

This page explains general clues to watch for when observing prairie smoke phenology. However, this page does not explain how to identify this plant or collect data in a standardized way.

Around the edge of this basal rosette, larger leaves from last season are brownish-gray. Toward the center, this year's bright green leaves unfold.
A cluster of green leaves with magenta flower buds at the center. The buds are still low to the ground, on short stems.
Prairie smoke flowers nod over. There is a single flower for each bending, fuzzy stem. The bright green leaves have a fern-like appearance.
This photo is a close-up of two flowers against a bright blue sky. The teardrop-shaped flowers have a rich magenta color and five-part symmetry.
Two seed heads of the prairie smoke plant stand upright in a setting with bright green vegetation. One has a whispy texture and both are magenta and smoky pink in color.
Grassland scene with smoky pink, feathery seedheads of the prairie smoke plant.
Close-up of a seed head. It has lost its pink color and feathery texture. It is now golden and bristly.
Some leaves of this prairie smoke plang have started changing color from green to red and yellowish green.

Graphs and historical data

Note: The Orientation Center provides a map, as well as information on reading graphs; interpreting summary statistics, who collected the data and how; and how to download datasets for independent exploration.


Hennepin County

Flowering

  • Earliest: April 17 (occurred in 1958 and 1963)
  • Average: May 6
  • Latest: May 25 (occurred in 1968)
Scatterplot showing prairie smoke phenology in Hennepin County, Minnesota

Download this dataset (.csv file)

Last flower

  • Earliest: May 14 (occurred in 1957)
  • Average: June 6
  • Latest: June 20 (occurred in 1968 and 1974)
Scatterplot showing prairie smoke phenology in Hennepin County, Minnesota

Download this dataset (.csv file)

More resources

Prairie smoke (Geum triflorum) in the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas

 

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Times of year

Co-author: Jayme Hogan, Minnesota Master Naturalist