Sisyrinchium atlanticum |
Sisyrinchium radicatum |
|
---|---|---|
eastern blue-eyed-grass |
bigroot blue-eyed grass |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, cespitose, yellowish to light olive when dry, to 5.7 dm, not glaucous. | Herbs, perennial, cespitose, pale olive green when dry, to 3.4 dm, rarely glaucous. |
Stems | branched, with 1 or 2 nodes, 0.8–1.9 mm wide, usually glabrous, margins entire, similar in color and texture to stem body; first internode 11–36 cm, longer than leaves; distalmost node with 2–3 branches. |
branched, with 1–2 nodes, 1.7–3.2 mm wide, glabrous, margins white or translucent-cartilaginous; first internode 11–41 cm, longer than leaves; distalmost node with 2 branches. |
Leaf | blades usually glabrous, bases occasionally becoming fibrous, but not persistent in tufts. |
blades glabrous, bases not persistent in fibrous tufts. |
Inflorescences | borne singly; spathes green or occasionally with purplish tinge on margins, obviously wider than supporting branch, glabrous or slightly scabrous, keels entire; outer 12–16.1 mm, 1.4 mm shorter to 1.5 mm longer than inner, tapering evenly towards apex, margins basally connate 3–5.2 mm; inner with keel evenly curved or straight, hyaline margins 0.2–0.6 mm wide, apex broadly rounded to truncate, usually erose, ending 0–0.5 mm proximal to green apex or, occasionally, exceeding it by up to 0.5 mm. |
borne singly; spathes green, obviously wider than supporting branch, glabrous, keels entire to denticulate; outer 14–18 mm, 3.8 mm shorter to 0.5 mm longer than inner, tapering evenly towards apex, basally connate 4–7 mm; inner with keel evenly curved to straight, hyaline margins 0.5–0.8 mm wide, apex abruptly broadened, ending 0.5–2.3 mm proximal to green apex. |
Flowers | tepals light blue or bluish violet to purple or occasionally white, bases yellow; outer tepals 6.3–11 mm, apex emarginate to truncate, aristate; filaments connate ± entirely, stipitate-glandular basally; ovary blackish, in contrast with much lighter foliage. |
tepals bluish violet, bases yellow; outer tepals elliptic to oblanceolate, 9–12 mm, apex rounded to slightly emarginate, aristate; filaments connate ± entirely, stipitate-glandular basally; ovary similar in color to foliage. |
Capsules | dark brown to black or purplish black, ± globose to obovoid, 2–4.1 mm; pedicel ascending to erect. |
beige to tan, globose, 4.3–6 mm; pedicel erect to ascending. |
Seeds | globose to obconic, lacking obvious depression, 0.5–1.2 mm, rugulose or occasionally granular. |
globose to obconic, lacking obvious depression, 0.8–1.3 mm, rugulose. |
2n | = 16, 32. |
= 32. |
Sisyrinchium atlanticum |
Sisyrinchium radicatum |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring–early summer. | Flowering late spring–mid summer. |
Habitat | Moist meadows and coastal dunes in sandy, peaty, or rich, loamy soil | Moist, sometimes alkaline meadows, stream banks, borders of springs |
Elevation | 0–300 m (0–1000 ft) | 600–1300 m (2000–4300 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; NS
|
NV; UT |
Discussion | Of conservation concern. Sisyrinchium radicatum has been confused with S. demissum: S. L. Welsh and G. Moore (1973) called all branched Sisyrinchium plants in Utah S. radicatum, while S. Goodrich and E. Neese (1986) called such plants S. demissum with S. radicatum a synonym. Sisyrinchium radicatum differs in having white or cartilaginous margins on the stem and a broad apex to the hyaline margin of the inner spathe; it is apparently restricted to the St. George–Las Vegas region, and is to be expected in the adjacent northwest corner of Arizona. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 26. | FNA vol. 26, p. 362. |
Parent taxa | Iridaceae > Sisyrinchium | Iridaceae > Sisyrinchium |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. apiculatum, S. apiculatum var. mesochorum, S. corymbosum, S. flexile, S. mucronatum var. atlanticum, S. scoparium, S. tracyi, S. violaceum | |
Name authority | E. P. Bicknell: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 23: 134. (1896) | E. P. Bicknell: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 28: 576. (1901) |
Web links |