XSisyrinchium montanum - Strict Blue-eyed GrassX
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Strict Blue-eyed Grass -or- Mountain blue-eyed grass -or- Common blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium montanum), family Iridaceae (Iris)
These striking looking flowers were a pleasing surprise on our hike in the Meyer Open Space. The perennial forb/herbs are one of 41 species in the genus Sisyrinchium. Only 4 of those are found in Colorado, montanum being the most common. The only other genus in Colorado in the family, IRIS, is even less populated in Colorado with 1 species - missouriensis. See our specimen found on a roadside in Boulder County, here. The native territory of montanum per WIKIPEDIA is: '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'. End quote.
Blue-eyed grass is not really a grass. It is an unusual member of the iris family because it is native to prairie grasslands, whereas most iris prefer wet lands, per the University of Texas at Austin.
Montanum is classified as sensitive in Washington state and endangered in the states of Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, and Ohio.
USES: The single Native American tribe at Native American Ethnobotany with records of uses of montanum is: Iroquois - Used as a physic for old people. Decoction taken for fevers such as malaria and scarlet fever but not typhoid. Feared it was poison. At Plant-Life.org is this: The leaves of mountain blue-eyed-grass are edible cooked. They can be mixed with other greens. Native peoples used the roots of mountain blue-eyed-grass to make a tea for treating diarrhea, especially in children. A tea made from the entire plant was taken to cure stomachaches and to expel intestinal worms. Herbalists used these teas to treat menstrual disorders and for birth control. The plant has also been used as a laxative.
There are two varieties of Sisyrinchium montanum - montanum, and crebrum.
Flower -
Plant location: Meyer Open Sapce - Lodgepole Loop trail - Colorado, on May 16, 2010. GPS coordinates: N39?32.392 W105?16.941 - Elevation: 8085'. Per the USDA Plant Database this species is found in most states of the U.S and it blankets Canada. The Colorado State University Extension website shows the plants as uncommon in Colorado. We did not capture a good plant view of this specimen. Plant -
Bloom season: In Colorado the bloom season is shown as June. Other sources show May through July. The plants are plains/foothills dwellers. They will grow in moist, sandy, or dry soils.Foliage -
Meyer Open Space - Lodgepole Loop trail - Colorado - May 16, 2010
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Meyer Open Space - Lodgepole Loop trail - Colorado - May 16, 2010
The inflorescence giving you it's backside; pedicle (stalk of the flower) topped with the ovary (type inferior-petals attached at top). -
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Meyer Open Space - Lodgepole Loop trail - Colorado - May 16, 2010
Reproductive macro. The plant produces a capsule-like fruit with multiple chambers that splits open when mature. -
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