296 IXIACEAE 



1. Sisyrinchium exile Bicknell. Plants in diminutive tufts 3-8 cm. high. Foliage 

 glaucescent : larger leaves equalling or surpassing the scapes ; blades 0.75-1.5 mm. wide, 

 firm, weakly Jew-nerved : scapes 1.5-6.5 cm. tall, less than 1 mm. wide, narrowly mar- 

 gined, the edges smooth : spathes sometimes larger than the scapes, the bracts foliaceous, 

 very unequal, the outer one 2-2.8 cm. long : interior scales less than the length of the 

 inner bract : flowers few, on hair-like pedicels spreading or recurved from about midway 

 in the spathe : perianth very small and delicate, about 5 mm. long, pale yellowish and 

 bluish : sepals and petals short-aristulate : staminal column 1.5-2 mm. high, its base dilated 

 and puberulent. 



On sandy sea shores, Galveston, Texas. Late winter and early spring. 



2. Sisyrinchium angustifolium Mill. Plants tufted, 1-4 dm. tall or more, more or 

 less glaucous. Leaf-blades 1-3 mm. wide, usually serrulate roughened : scapes twice longer 

 than the leaves, about as wide, wing-margined : spathes mostly green, sometimes purplish, 

 the outer bract 2-6 cm. long, clasping for 2-6 mm. at its base, much larger than the inner 

 one : pedicels stiff and nearly erect : perianth violet-blue, 10-12 mm. long : staminal 

 column 4-6 mm. high : capsules 4-6 mm. high, oblong-globose : seeds dark brown, 1-1.5 

 mm. long, obovoid-oblong, with shallow pits, or nearly smooth. 



In moist or dry soil, Newfoundland to Saskatchewan, New Jersey, North Carolina and Colorado. 

 Spring and summer. 



3. Sisyrinchium mucronatum Michx. Plants in close tufts, 1-4.5 dm. tall, dull 

 green or glaucescent. Leaves numerous ; blades from nearly filiform to 1.5 mm. wide : 

 scapes twice as long as the leaves or sometimes equalled by them and of about the same 

 width, merely margined or narrowly winged, smooth or denticulate-roughened : spathes 

 bright red-purple or rarely green, the bracts thin, smooth, the outer one 2-6 cm. long, 

 united-clasping for 1-4 mm. at the base, the inner emerging gradually from the outer one, 

 1-1.5 cm. long : pedicels slender, somewhat spreading : perianth deep purple-blue or some- 

 times white, 6-14 mm. long : capsules 2-4 mm. high, pale, thin-walled : seeds black, about 1 

 mm. long, subglobose, pitted. 



In meadows and grassy places, or sometimes in dry soil, Ontario and Michigan to North Carolina. 

 Spring. 



4. Sisyrinchium campestre Bicknell. Plants closely tufted, 1-3 dm. tall, glaucescent 

 or glaucous. Leaf -blades mostly 1-1.5 mm. wide, smooth-edged : scapes twice as long as 

 the leaves or sometimes surpassed by them, 1-1.5 mm. wide, narrowly wing-margined, the 

 sides often obscurely scabrous : spathes dull purple to green, the bracts commonly roughish 

 all over or canescently scabrous-puberulent, or sometimes glabrous, the outer one 2.5-4.5 

 mm. long, its edges free to the extreme base, the inner bract 1.2-2 cm. long, somewhat 

 abruptly emerging from the outer one : pedicels nearly erect : perianth pale blue or white, 

 8-14 mm. long: capsules pale, 2-4 mm. high: seeds 1-1.25 mm. long, obovoid-globose, 

 faintly pitted. 



On plains, prairies and in meadows and open woods, Wisconsin to North Dakota, Louisiana and 

 New Mexico. Spring. A variety from Kansas and Oklahoma, S. campestre Kansdnum Bicknell, is 

 stouter, has larger flowers, broader leaf-blades, more winged scapes and larger spathes, the slenderly 

 prolonged outer bract being 2.5-6.5 cm. long. 



5. Sisyrinchium sagittfferum Bicknell. Plants thinly tufted, 1-3 dm. tall, fibril- 

 lose at the base, drying dark. Roots clustered and becoming much thickened : leaf-blades 

 rather thin, but firm, 0.5-3 mm. wide, striate-nerved, the edges smooth or serrulate : 

 scapes about as long as the leaves, very slender, 0.5-1.5 mm. wide, wing-margined, mostly 

 denticulate-roughened : spathes erect, often 2 together, the outer bract slenderly attenuate, 

 1.5-7 cm. long, its margins free to the base, the inner bract 1-1.7 cm. long, rather broad 

 below, mostly scarious and obtuse at the apex : pedicels hair-like, flexuously exserted : 

 perianth violet or white, 8-10 mm. long : capsules dark, subglobose, 4-6 mm. high, on 

 finally spreading or recurved pedicels. 



In dry woods, Louisiana and Texas. Early spring. 



6. Sisyrinchium albidum Raf. Plants more or less tufted, 1.5-4.5 dm. tall, green or 

 glaucous. Leaf-blades mostly 1.5 mm. wide (0.5-3.5 mm.), usually smooth-edged, some- 

 times serrulate : scapes about twice as tall as the leaves, mostly 1.5 mm. wide, often very 

 flat, the thin wings mostly serrulate or hispidulous on the margins : spathes 2 together, the 

 primary bract 2.5-7 cm. long, much surpassing the others, foliaceous or slenderly atten- 

 uate, the edges distinct to the base : perianth 8-12 mm. long, clear white or violet-blue : 

 capsules pale, broadly subglobose, 2-3 mm. long, thick-walled : seeds 0.75-1 mm. in diam- 

 eter, black, distinctly pitted. 



In dry or moist soil, or in meadows, Michigan and Missouri to North Carolina, Alabama and 

 Louisiana. Spring. 



7. Sisyrinchium scabr611um Bicknell. Plants closely tufted, 2.5-4 dm. tall, slightly 

 fibrillose at the base, dull pale green or glaucescent. Leaves stiffly erect, purple-tinged at 



