Kingdom Plantae Family Iridaceae Tribe Sisyrinchieae Scientific name Sisyrinchium montanum Rank Species | Order Asparagales Subfamily Iridoideae Genus Sisyrinchium Higher classification Sisyrinchium | |
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Similar Sisyrinchium, Sisyrinchium angustifolium, Iridaceae, Sisyrinchium bermudiana, Sisyrinchium californicum | ||
Sisyrinchium montanum, or American blue-eyed-grass, or strict blue-eyed grass, is a grass-like species of plants from the genus Sisyrinchium native to northern North America from Newfoundland west to easternmost Alaska, and south to Pennsylvania in the east, and to New Mexico in the Rocky Mountains.
It is very similar to S. angustifolium, with which it is sometimes combined.
Description
Sisyrinchium montanum is a herbaceous perennial plant that grows in clumps between 10–50 cm tall. Its stems have wings with entire to finely toothed margins. The leaves and stem are slender, 3 mm broad, green or brownish, with sharp edges and a fine point.
The flowers are produced in a small cyme of two to five together emerging from a spathe, each flower about 2 cm diameter, with six purplish tepals with a yellowish base and yellow stamens. The fruit is a capsule 4.5–6 mm long, containing numerous small black seeds.