@polly_springA patch of Geum triflorum in bloom can look like something burning low across the ground, which is exactly where the name prairie smoke comes from. Spring finds each flower nodding downward, a soft pink bell with its head lowered. Once pollination happens, the bloom rises and its styles grow out into long, feathery plumes, pink and whisker-like. Those plumes aren't just for show: each one holds onto a seed and catches the wind, carrying it away from the plant that made it. Get enough of them together and the whole group reads as smoke drifting over the prairie

@polly_springA patch of Geum triflorum in bloom can look like something burning low across the ground, which is exactly where the name prairie smoke comes from. Spring finds each flower nodding downward, a soft pink bell with its head lowered. Once pollination happens, the bloom rises and its styles grow out into long, feathery plumes, pink and whisker-like. Those plumes aren't just for show: each one holds onto a seed and catches the wind, carrying it away from the plant that made it. Get enough of them together and the whole group reads as smoke drifting over the prairie