Sisyrinchium montanum |
Sisyrinchium langloisii |
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Bermudienne montagnarde, mountain blue-eyed-grass, strict blue-eyed-grass |
roadside blue-eyed grass |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, cespitose, pale to olive green or dark brown to bronze when dry, to 5 dm, not glaucous; rhizomes scarcely discernable. | Herbs, perennial, cespitose, olive to bronze-olive when dry, to 3.2 dm, not glaucous. | ||||
Stems | simple, obviously winged, (1.5–)2–3.7 mm wide, glabrous, margins entire (in eastern populations) to denticulate (in western populations) apically, similar in color and texture to stem body. |
branched, with 1 or 2 nodes, often purplish, 0.5–2(–2.2) mm wide, glabrous, margins entire to denticulate, similar in color and texture to stem body; first internode 3.2–7.2 cm, usually shorter than leaves; distalmost node with 1–3 branches. |
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Leaf | blades glabrous, bases not persistent in fibrous tufts. |
blades glabrous, bases not persistent in fibrous tufts. |
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Inflorescences | borne singly; spathes usually green or bronze, rarely with purplish margins, glabrous, keels usually denticulate; outer 36–76 mm, 12–46 mm longer than inner, slightly constricted proximal to apex, margins basally connate 2–5.7 mm; inner with keel ± gibbous basally, sinuous proximally, hyaline margins 0.1–0.3 mm wide, apex acuminate to acute, ending 0.9–4.3 mm proximal to recurved green apex. |
borne singly; spathes purplish-tinged basally and sometimes along margins, obviously wider than supporting branch, glabrous, keels entire to occasionally denticulate; outer 12.5–25 mm, 0.9–2.7 mm longer than inner, tapering evenly towards apex, margins basally connate 2.2–3.8(–5) mm; inner with keel evenly curved or straight, hyaline margins 0.2–0.4 mm wide, apex acuminate to acute or occasionally obtuse, ending 0–1.5 mm proximal to green apex. |
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Flowers | tepals dark bluish violet, bases yellow; outer tepals 9–14.5 mm, apex emarginate to retuse, aristate; filaments connate ± entirely, stipitate-glandular basally; ovary similar in color to foliage. |
tepals pale blue to bluish violet or white, bases yellow; outer tepals 6.1–10 mm, apex rounded to truncate, aristate; filaments connate ± entirely, glabrous or sparsely stipitate-glandular basally; ovary similar in color to foliage. |
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Capsules | tan to dark brown, sometimes with purplish tinge apically, ± globose to obovoid, 4–6.8 mm; pedicel erect to spreading. |
medium brown to black, ± globose, 3.1–4.7 mm; pedicel spreading or ascending. |
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Seeds | globose to obconic, lacking obvious depression, 0.9–1.5 mm, rugulose. |
globose to obconic, lacking obvious depression, 0.9–1.1 mm, rugulose. |
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2n | = 32. |
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Sisyrinchium montanum |
Sisyrinchium langloisii |
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Phenology | Flowering spring. | |||||
Habitat | Moist prairies, roadsides, open woods | |||||
Elevation | 0–200 m (0–700 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
North America
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AL; AR; GA; LA; MS; OK; TN; TX
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Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). Eastern coastal populations of Sisyrinchium montanum appear to have some slight affinity to S. angustifolium (e.g., long connation of outer spathe) and some previous floras have combined the two taxa. Some taxonomists have questioned the recognition of varieties within S. montanum, but we feel that the differences between them are no more subtle than those between varieties generally recognized elsewhere in the genus. Living material was not available to us to investigate breeding barriers. Although Sisyrinchium montanum is considered weedy by D. T. Patterson et al. (1989), I have seen many populations all through the western states and Great Lakes areas and would not consider it weedy in any of these portions of the range. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Sisyrinchium implicatum E. P. Bicknell probably belongs here; the type (Hilgard s.n., Apr 1858, Calhoun Co., Mississippi, MO) was not seen. Sisyrinchium langloisii is to be expected in northeastern Mexico. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 366. | FNA vol. 26, p. 364. | ||||
Parent taxa | Iridaceae > Sisyrinchium | Iridaceae > Sisyrinchium | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | S. canbyi, S. flaccidum, S. furcatum | |||||
Name authority | Greene: Pittonia 4: 33. (1899) | Greene: Pittonia 4: 32. (1899) | ||||
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