Happy Father’s day to all who celebrate their dads and grandfathers. If you are looking for an adventure to take with your “old man”, may I suggest traveling to a dry prairie or native grassland area and going on a small quest to find their namesake flower Old Man’s Whiskers, also known as the Three-flowered Aven (Geum trifolum). At the base of the stem are the bright green fern like or basal leaves. If you are a little further south these leaves will actually stay green all winter, but up here they can often turn a bright red in the fall. Aptly titled, the most eye-catching feature of the plant is the three fuchsia to light pink flowers at the top of a bent stem, which always reminds me of little lamp posts breaking up the sky vistas for ants. These flowers may also remind you of the shape of a rose hip, perhaps because Old Man whiskers are a member of the rose family.
But would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? I say yes, but caution that as it is shaping up to be another dry summer with threats of wildfire on the horizon, one should not run home and proudly announce that you’ve seen Prairie Smoke, the other moniker given to the Three-flowered Aven. The flowers start blooming in May and June, but once pollinated they turn to face the sky and transform into beautiful tufts of feathery styles. If you see a group of the plants together, they truly do look like a cloud of prairie smoke, until a wind come to blow the seeds away to start their own journey elsewhere.
Now if you do have the luck to find the seed heads, you should also stop to appreciate that the Three-flowered Aven is an important source of nectar for our threatened bumblebees. The flower heads are so firmly shut that bumblebees are one of the few insects with the ability to pry open the petals to get at the pollen and nectar within. I imagine it must be a relief for bumblebees to find these pink snacks bobbing in the wind on the prairie.
The Three-flowered Aven was also used for medicinal benefits. It was used to treat diarrhea. The seeds and roots could be boiled into a tea to treat canker sores and sore throats. Or you could boil the roots down into a gel to use as an ointment on cuts and wounds. The seeds were also collected and crushed to be used as a perfume. As always when using any medicinal plant, never do so without consulting an elder or someone who uses the plant regularly to ensure its proper use and your safety.
Speaking of safety, on this quest to find the useful and beautiful Old Man Whiskers, take the time to appreciate the father figures in your life who helped to get you where you are today. And don’t forget to stop and smell the lesser known roses.
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