Species: Sisyrinchium sarmentosum

Pale Blue-eyed-grass
Species
Plants

A perennial herb up to 32 cm tall, although most plants are only 15-20 cm tall. The leaves are narrow and are typically, but not always, shorter than the stem. Both the stems and leaves are a pale green or blue-green in color. Each stem has 2-7 flowers on slender stalks (pedicels). Flowers are pale blue with a yellow spot in the center. The petal-like structures comprising the flower (tepals) are about 1.25 cm in length and pale blue in color. The anthers are yellow (adapted from WA NHP 1999).

Source: Encyclopedia of Life

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Anthophyta
Class

Monocotyledoneae

Order

Liliales

Family

Iridaceae

Genus

Sisyrinchium

Natureserve Explorer
Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.151762
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Mountain Blue-eyed-grass - mountain blue-eyed grass
Informal Taxonomy
Plants, Vascular - Flowering Plants - Iris Family
Formal Taxonomy
Plantae - Anthophyta - Monocotyledoneae - Liliales - Iridaceae - Sisyrinchium - complex.

A perennial herb up to 32 cm tall, although most plants are only 15-20 cm tall. The leaves are narrow and are typically, but not always, shorter than the stem. Both the stems and leaves are a pale green or blue-green in color. Each stem has 2-7 flowers on slender stalks (pedicels). Flowers are pale blue with a yellow spot in the center. The petal-like structures comprising the flower (tepals) are about 1.25 cm in length and pale blue in color. The anthers are yellow (adapted from WA NHP 1999).

Source: Encyclopedia of Life

Short General Description
A perennial herb with grass-like leaves. Grows in small tufts that are typically 15-20 cm tall. The small flowers have six pale blue petaloid structures (tepals), but do not open up until late morning or mid-day. Populations at lower elevations (around 600 m) begin flowering in mid-June with mature capsules present by mid-July, while populations at higher elevations (around 900-1200 m) begin blooming in early- to mid-July and have mature capsules in mid-August.
Reproduction Comments
The flowers of northwestern <i>Sisyrinchium</i> are protandrous (male parts of the flower mature before the female parts), a condition which promotes outcrossing. However, the duodecaploid species in this group, including <i>S. sarmentosum</i>, tend to have less pronounced protandry and a higher degree of self-compatibility than some of the other species (especially the tetraploids) (Henderson 1976), such that wild <i>S. sarmentosum</i> populations likely produce seed via a mixture of self- and cross-pollination. <i>S. sarmentosum</i> appears capable of producing abundant seed when grazing does not prevent seed set (A. Raven pers. comm. cited in Wilson et al. 2000). It can also reproduce vegetatively, spreading by rhizomes at least on a scale of many centimeters (A. Raven pers. comm. cited in Wilson et al. 2000). Under heavy grazing, this vegetative spread is often the primary means by which the species is able to reproduce.
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G2
Global Status Last Reviewed
2008-08-18
Global Status Last Changed
2008-08-18
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?US.OR=S1&US.WA=S1" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
Endemic to a small area of the Cascade Mountains in south-central Washington (Klickitat, Skamania, and Yakima counties) and adjacent northern Oregon (Clackamas and Marion counties), in the vicinity of Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood. It occurs within the Eastern Cascades and Western Cascades physiographic provinces in Washington and the Western Cascades and Crest region in Oregon. Using GIS tools, the total extent of occurrence was calculated to be approximately 4550 square km.
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.151762