Texas Gardening: Texas Native Plant Pictures by color ( Blue ), 1 by htop

htop wrote:
Swordleaf Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium chilense), Iridaceae Family, native, perennial, blooms in March through May

Swordleaf blue-eyed grass forms a dense, turf-like clump given time. Although its name implies that it is a grass, it is not and is related to the iris. The derivation of the genus name "Sisyrinchium" comes from the Greek words "sys" (pig) and "rhynchos" (nose). This refers to the habit of pigs or wild hogs "grubbing" the roots. It can be found growing along roadsides, in meadows, oak uplands, open woodlands, pastures, prairies, plains and savannahs. It grows in a variety of soils, but prefers sandy, sandy loam and medium loam. It has been found in clay loam, clay and limestone-based soils. It will remain evergreen if kept watered through the summer and it needs water when in bloom. This wet spring has blessed Texans with a wonderful showing of these beautiful little plants.

The leaves are narrow and long and emerge from the base. The gray-green flower stem is short and winged. Each inflorescence has two leaf-like bracts underneath it where it meets the main stem. These are called the spathe. There are two of these leaf-like structures where the flowers emerge as well which are both about the same length. The blue to blue-violet "petals" of the yellow-based small bloom are actually tepals. Three of the six are narrower than the other three. The yellow base appears as a yellow "eye" in the center of the bloom. It is usually outlined in dark bluish purple. The filaments (stalks of the anthers) are connate (grown together). The flowers close at night or in cloudy weather. The round, 1/4 inch seed capsules are light to dark brown. Each seed has a small indentation on one side. Seed may be collected in May when the seeds are black.

Any of the blue-eyed grass species are excellent choices to use as border plants and/or iin wildscapes. They also can be used as container plants.

Distribution:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?state_name=Texas&statefip...

For more information, see its entry in the PlantFiles:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/142795/index.html

A fully opened bloom, unripe seed capsule and spent bloom shown in the late afternoon. The tepals are recurved backward which is not always the case. (For other photos of blooms and seed capsules, see later date posts: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=8683141
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=8683143)


This message was edited Jul 10, 2011 1:17 AM