| Sisyrinchium montanum | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Iridaceae |
| Genus: | Sisyrinchium |
| Species: | S. montanum |
| Binomial name | |
| Sisyrinchium montanum Greene, 1899 | |
| Varieties[2] | |
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| Synonyms[3] | |
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Sisyrinchium montanum, theblue-eyed-grass,American blue-eyed-grass,[4] orstrict blue-eyed grass,[5] is a grass-like species of plant from thegenusSisyrinchium, native to northernNorth America fromNewfoundland west to easternmostAlaska, and south toPennsylvania in the east, and toNew Mexico in theRocky Mountains. It has also been introduced to parts ofFrance, likely during theFirst World War.[6]
It is very similar toS. angustifolium, with which it is sometimes combined.[7]
Sisyrinchium montanum is aherbaceousperennial plant that grows in clumps between 10 and 50 cm (4 and 20 in) tall. Itsstems have wings with entire to finely toothed margins. Theleaves and stem are slender, 3 mm (1⁄8 in) broad, green or brownish, with sharp edges and a fine point.
Theflowers are produced in a smallcyme of two to five together emerging from aspathe, each flower about2 cm (3⁄4 in) diameter, with six purplishtepals with a yellowish base and yellow stamens. Thefruit is acapsule 4.5–6 mm (0.18–0.24 in) long, containing numerous small blackseeds.[7][8]
Patches of the forest bloom withSisyrinchium montanum, or American blue-eyed grass, which stowed away as seeds on the hooves of U.S. Army horses that came through Verdun.
Media related toSisyrinchium montanum at Wikimedia Commons
