Sisyrinchium montanum
Sisyrinchium sagittiferum
Bermudienne montagnarde, mountain blue-eyed-grass, strict blue-eyed-grass
spearbract blue-eyed grass
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.
simple, 0.9–2.1 mm wide, glabrous, margins usually entire, usually not hyaline, similar in color and texture to stem body.
blades glabrous, bases not persistent in fibrous tufts.
blades glabrous, bases becoming fibrous, persisting in tufts.
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 often purplish brown, glabrous, keels entire;
outer 15–33 mm, 6.2–13 mm longer than inner, basally connate 1–2.7 mm, tapering evenly towards apex;
inner with keel gibbous basally, hyaline margins 0.5–0.6 mm wide, apex rounded or truncate, somewhat erose, usually extending beyond green apex as 2 lobes.
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 blue to bluish violet, bases yellow;
outer tepals 7.8–13 mm, apex rounded to slightly emarginate, aristate;
filaments connate ± entirely, slightly stipitate-glandular basally;
ovary similar in color to foliage.
tan to dark brown, sometimes with purplish tinge apically, ± globose to obovoid, 4–6.8 mm;
pedicel erect to spreading.
dark reddish brown, ± globose, 2.7–4.3 mm;
pedicel spreading to ascending.
globose to obconic, lacking obvious depression, 0.9–1.5 mm, rugulose.
globose to obconic, lacking obvious depression, 0.5–1.1 mm, rugulose.
= 32.
Sisyrinchium montanum
Sisyrinchium sagittiferum
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.)
K. L. Hornberger (1987, 1991) and D. S. Correll and M. C. Johnston (1970) considered Sisyrinchium texanum to be conspecific with S. sagittiferum (Correll and Johnston called it a “hybrid form”). E. P. Bicknell, however, described S. sagittiferum as being unbranched, and the single (poor) type specimen (Riddell s.n., NY) agrees. We follow Bicknell’s original concept of a single-stemmed S. sagittiferum. Sisyrinchium texanum, being branched, is not considered a synonym here.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Margins of outer spathe connate basally 4–5.7 mm; plants drying dark brown or bronze. | var. crebrum |
1. Margins of outer spathe connate basally 1–3.5 mm; plants drying green to olive. | var. montanum |
BC
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
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