Geum triflorum Pursh
old man's whiskers (prairie smoke)
Rosaceae (Rose family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Bryan Kelly-McArthur     (Photo ID #82508)

Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Geum triflorum
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Species Information

General:
Perennial herb, soft- to coarse-hairy throughout, from a short thick rhizome and stout stem-base covered in old leaf bases; stems erect, 20-40 cm tall, tufted.
Leaves:
Basal leaves numerous, short-stalked, interruptedly pinnately divided, oblong to egg-shaped in outline, 3-15 cm long, with 9 to 19 (29) crowded, wedge-shaped segments cleft again into narrow, toothed divisions; stem leaves opposite, 2 to 4, small, usually divided into linear lobes.
Flowers:
Inflorescence an open, bracted, terminal cluster of 1 to 5, usually 3, mostly nodding, stalked flowers that appear to be partially closed; corollas yellowish-white to pink or purplish, the petals 5, elliptic, erect, about as long as the calyx-bractlets; calyces urn- to cup-shaped, reddish-purple, 5-lobed, the lobes lance-triangular, erect, 8-12 mm long, alternating with 5 linear, spreading bractlets, slightly shorter to distinctly longer than the calyx-lobes; ovaries superior; stamens numerous.
Fruits:
Achenes, numerous in feathery clusters; achenes pear-shaped, erect, about 3 mm long, beaked; styles 2-5 cm long, slender, feathery-hairy except at the bent tip, bronze to purplish.
Notes:
Two varieties occur in BC:

1. Flowers commonly 3; terminal segment of styles usually persistent; calyx-lobes lanceolate................ var. triflorum

1. Flowers commonly more than 3; terminal segment of styles usually deciduous; calyx-lobes narrowly egg-shaped ...............var. ciliatum (Pursh) Fassett

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Purple
Blooming Period:
Late Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Fall
Source:  The USDA

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Geum triflorum

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
 Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max
Elevation (metres)
 1147 170 2296
Slope Gradient (%)
 23 0 360

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

 194 0 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		3 0 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
 C
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
 857
Modal BEC Zone Class
 IDF

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

 AT(21), BAFA(3), BG(100), BWBS(4), ESSF(128), ICH(12), IDF(359), MS(76), PP(112), SBPS(9), SBS(5), SWB(1)

Habitat and Range

Dry to mesic grasslands, meadows, rocky slopes and open forests in the steppe, montane and subalpine zones; common in S BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, infrequent in the Peace River valley; N to YT and NT, E to NF and S to CA, NM, NE, IL and NY.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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