SISYRINCHIUM MONTANUM Greene

Northern Blue-eyed-grass

 

 

FAMILY: Iridaceae

HABIT: Erect perennial herb to 6 dm.; flowering June, July, fruiting June-August.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Sisyrinchium montanum is similar to the common Sisyrinchium angustifolium, but can be distinguished by the following characters: S. montanum  - stems simple, spathes terminal, spathe-bracts unequal, pedicel more or less ascending and rarely exceeding inner bract; S. angustifolium - stems forking, spathes on peduncles from axils of leaf-like bracts, spathe-bracts subequal, pedicels long, slender, outwardly arching or recurving and much overtopping these spathes.

TOTAL RANGE: W. Nfld. to n. B.C., s. to Que., Ont., NY, NJ, PA, n. OH, n. IN, n. IL, n. IA, NE, CO, NM; along mts. to VA and NC.

STATE RANGE: A post-1960 specimen exists only from Erie County. 1955 records exist from Cuyahoga, Portage, and Summit counties. Braun (1967) also lists a record from Clinton County.

STATE STATUS: 1980-1983: Threatened, 1984-1989: Endangered, 1990-1993: Presumed Extirpated, 1994 to present: Endangered.

HABITAT: A variety of moist open situations: sandy or gravelly shores, rock crevices, meadows, mixed woods; especially in disturbed areas and clearings, old railroad beds, banks of ditches, and roadsides through wet ground.

HAZARDS: Overshading by woody species as a result of succession.

RECOVERY POTENTIAL: Presumed excellent due to its generalized habitat and tolerance of disturbance.

INVENTORY GUIDELINES: Mature flowering or fruiting material is needed for positive identification. Note the color of the spathes and the connation of the outer bract-margins.

COMMENTS: This species may be more frequent than the records indicate. It may have been overlooked due to its habit of occurring in scattered local populations, its resemblance to the more common S. angustifolium, and its occurrence in disturbed habitats. It should be sought throughout northern Ohio.

Some authors divide this species into two varieties. Under this concept, Ohio plants are the var. crebrum Fern. The typical variety is western in range. Var. crebrum is erroneously treated as S. angustifolium by some authors. Longstanding taxonomic and nomenclatural difficulties with this genus are clarified by Ward (1968).

SELECTED REFERENCES:

 

Braun, E.L. 1967. The Monocotyledoneae of Ohio : Cat-tails to orchids. The Ohio State University Press, Columbus, OH. 464 p.

Voss, E.G. 1972. Michigan flora, Part I, Gymnosperms and monocots. Cranbrook Inst. of Sci. Bull. 55, Bloomfield Hills, MI. 488 p.

Ward, D.B. 1968. The nomenclature of Sisyrinchium bermudiana and related North American species. Taxon 17: 270-276.

 

 

Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Division of Natural Areas and Preserves

Created: 2/1984 James F. Burns

Database Code: SPGX.J93