PRAIRIE-SMOKE 



Sieversia ciliata (Pursh) Don 



This pretty and graceful plant grows in grassy meadows, where its 

 red flowers, which resemble buds, its crimson stems, and plumed fruit 

 immediately attract attention. In late summer the silky fruit heads 

 give to dense patches of the plants dispersed over the plains, a purplish 

 hazy appearance, when viewed from a distance. 



The plant belongs to that group of the Rose Family which in- 

 cludes the cinquefoils and barren-strawberries, and is most nearly related 

 to the geums, being in fact listed in some books as Geum triflorum. 



As its name suggests, this plant is typical of the prairie region of the 

 United States, ranging from New Mexico to Missouri and northward. 

 It extends well up into the eastern valleys of the Rocky Mountains, as 

 far north as Alberta, and has also migrated across southern Canada and 

 the northern United States as far as Maine. 



The specimen sketched was collected near Banff, Alberta, Canada, 

 at an altitude of 4,000 feet. 



PLATE 53 



