Sisyrinchium montanum |
Sisyrinchium rosulatum |
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Bermudienne montagnarde, mountain blue-eyed-grass, strict blue-eyed-grass |
annual 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, annual or short-lived perennial, cespitose, yellowish green to medium or dark olive green when dry, to 3.6 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 or rarely simple, with 1–2(–3) nodes, 0.7–2 mm wide, glabrous, margins usually entire, similar in color and texture to stem body; first internode 2–10 cm, usually shorter than leaves; distalmost node with 1–2 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 green, obviously wider than supporting branch, glabrous, keels usually entire; outer 13–32.2 mm, 2–8.2 mm longer than inner, tapering evenly towards apex or occasionally slightly constricted proximal to apex, margins basally connate 2.3–6.7 mm; inner with keel evenly curved to straight, hyaline margins 0.2–0.3 mm wide, apex acute, occasionally erose, ending 0.3–4.6 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. |
perianth flaring distally, campanulate basally; tepals maroon or pink to lavender-rose with purple stripes, or yellow with rosy purple bases; outer tepals 5–11 mm, apex acute, rarely aristate; filaments connate basally, occasionally to 1/2 their length, basally inflated and stipitate-glandular 0.5–0.8 mm; 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. |
tan with purplish sutures and sometimes apex, ± globose, 2.1–4.2 mm; pedicel spreading to recurved. |
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Seeds | globose to obconic, lacking obvious depression, 0.9–1.5 mm, rugulose. |
± globose, sometimes with slight depression, 0.5–1 mm, rugulose. |
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2n | = 32. |
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Sisyrinchium montanum |
Sisyrinchium rosulatum |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–fall. | |||||
Habitat | Roadsides, old fields, and other disturbed areas, stream banks, wet areas bordering woods | |||||
Elevation | 0–80 m (0–300 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
North America
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AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; 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 rosulatum is apparently weedy throughout much of its range. (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. 358. | ||||
Parent taxa | Iridaceae > Sisyrinchium | Iridaceae > Sisyrinchium | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | S. brownei, S. exile | |||||
Name authority | Greene: Pittonia 4: 33. (1899) | E. P. Bicknell: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 26: 228. (1899) | ||||
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