Sisyrinchium mucronatum Michx.

Needletip blue-eyed grass (en), Sisyrinchium à feuilles étroites (fr), Bermudienne à feuilles étroites (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Asparagales > Iridaceae > Sisyrinchium

Characteristics

Herbs, perennial, cespitose, dull green to olive when dry, to 4.2 dm, not glaucous; rhizomes scarcely discernable. Stems simple, often purplish, almost wiry, with very narrow or scarcely discernable wings, 0.9–2 mm wide, usually glabrous, margins usually entire to denticulate apically, similar in color and texture to stem body. Leaf blades usually glabrous, bases not persistent in fibrous tufts. Inflorescences borne singly; spathes mostly purplish, glabrous to slightly scabrous (in southern populations), keels entire; outer 34–52 mm, 14–31 mm longer than inner, usually tapering evenly towards apex, margins basally connate (0.7–)1–2.7 mm; inner with keel evenly curved to occasionally gibbous basally, hyaline margins 0.1–0.3 mm wide, apex acuminate to acute, ending 0.5–3.2 mm proximal to green apex. Flowers: tepals dark blue or bluish violet, occasionally white, bases yellow; outer tepals 9–12.5 mm, apex emarginate to rounded, aristate; filaments connate ± entirely, stipitate-glandular basally; ovary similar in color to foliage. Capsules tan to light brown with purplish tinge apically, ± globose, 3.2–5.5 mm; pedicel spreading to erect. Seeds globose to obconic, lacking obvious depression, 0.8–1.5 mm, usually granular. 2n = 32.
More
Erect, 1–4 dm, delicate and wiry, dark green, drying dark; stems very slender, up to 1(–1.5) mm wide, barely or scarcely winged, entire-margined; lvs entire, very narrow, the larger ones up to 1.5 mm wide; spathes mostly solitary at the summit of the simple stem, often geniculate (set at an angle to the stem), anthocyanic or rarely green, the outer bract somewhat foliaceous and with its margins connate near the base, the inner bract shorter, 1.2–2 cm; tep 8–10 mm, bright violet (white); fr 2–4 mm; 2n=32. Meadows, fields, sandy places, and woods; Me. and w. Mass. to Ont. and Man., s. to N.C., Mich., and N.D.
A herb that forms clumps. The stems are flat or 2 sided. The leaves are 1-2 mm wide. The capsules are 3-4 mm long.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support -
Foliage retention
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.39 - 0.44
Root system rhizome
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a temperate plant.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 1-5
Soil texture 3-4
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 6-8

Usage

The leaves have occasionally been cooked and eaten along with other leaves. Caution: They should not be eaten in large amounts.
Uses medicinal
Edible leaves
Therapeutic use Nose Medicine (unspecified), Throat Aid (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -18
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Flower

Sisyrinchium mucronatum flower picture by Amanda Fleming (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Sisyrinchium mucronatum world distribution map, present in Canada, Micronesia (Federated States of), Georgia, Japan, Malaysia, Nicaragua, and United States of America

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:441189-1
WFO ID wfo-0000786549
COL ID 6YSM5
BDTFX ID 78157
INPN ID 161936
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Sisyrinchium intermedium Sisyrinchium versicolor Bermudiana mucronata Sisyrinchium bermudiana var. mucronatum Sisyrinchium angustifolium var. mucronatum Sisyrinchium mucronatum Sisyrinchium mucronatum var. mucronatum