The three-flowered avens is one of those lucky plants known by several common names, including prairie smoke and, yes, old man"s whiskers. The hardy perennial blooms across North American prairies in the springtime, setting off purple-tinged, closed bell-shaped buds that hang downward in clumps of three. After bees go to work pollinating the buds, the fertilized flowers open and turn skyward transforming their pistils into soft swirling tendrils that are said to resemble an old man"s whiskers. Take a good look at our image and decide if that"s what comes to mind for you. As summer marches on, the plants continue their spectacular show as the fuzzy seed heads take on a pink-tinged cast resembling low-lying prairie smoke.
Old man s whiskers growing wild
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Yi Peng lantern festival, Chiang Mai, Thailand
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A splash by the sea
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A summertime light show
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Stompin’ with the Big Chief
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Ronda, Spain
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Winter Olympics in Beijing
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Pretty, pretty…butterfly?
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Village of Labro, Italy
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Füzér Castle in the Zemplén Mountains, Hungary
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Black History Month
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Infinity Day
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An opulent backdrop for a historic event
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FOR FOREST by Klaus Littmann
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European hedgehog
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Humming along
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It s Independence Day
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Great Backyard Bird Count
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Tokyo welcomes a futuristic new art museum
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A tree amid the Tetons
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Maloja, Switzerland
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Procida, Italy
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An underwater rainbow
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Spring comes to Glacier National Park
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Cherry blossoms at the National Mall, Washington, DC
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Squirrel Appreciation Day
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On a Healing Field for Veterans Day
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International Kissing Day
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International Day of the Tropics
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Let’s go foraging
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A yearly sign that spring has sprung