Description

Soil: Mesic (Medium) to Dry (Xeric)
Sun: Full to Part
Height: 6″-13″
Color: Red
Bloom: April-May
Flowers: The hairy flowers are up to 3/4″ long with 5 lobes, 5 petals and narrow bracts that alternate with the sepals. There are usually 3 flowers per stalk, each on a separate branch.
Leaves: The fern-like basal leaves are 5″-9″ long, divided into toothed, wedge-shaped or oblong leaflets.

Suggested Uses:

This is one of the most highly prized natives! The flowers are a bit inconspicuous at first, but give way to showy red seed tassels that give the appearance of smoke. A very nice low-growing ground cover, Prairie Smoke does well on upland sandy and gravelly soils as well as on nice well-drained garden soil!  For use on upland shoreline or an excellent plant for any rock garden!

Interesting Facts:

Medicinal Uses: Early settlers used prairie smoke root tea to treat colic, fever, cough, “women’s diseases” and digestive ailments.
Food Uses: Native Americans once made tea from the roots.
Other Uses:
More Information:
Name: Triflorum means 3-flowered.
Other Names: Old Man’s Whiskers