PIPER FLORA OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON. 203 



Henderson, May, 1892; Rock Creek, Sandberg & Leiberg 100; Pullman, Piper, June, 1893; 

 Elmer 824; Piper 1683; Wenas, Griffiths cfe Cotton 67. 



Zonal DISTRIBUTION : Arid Transition. 



Some Washington specimens have been referred to Iris longipetala Herbert, but all such 

 seem to us forms of /. missouriensis. The occurrence of this species on Whidby Island is 

 surprising. No other station for the plant is known west of the Cascade Mountains. 



2. Iris tenax Dough; Lindl. Bot. Reg. 15: t. 1218. 1829. 



Type locality: "A common plant in north California and along the coast of New 

 Georgia, in dry soils or open parts of woods, flowering in April and May." Collected by 

 Douglas. 



Range: Washington to California in the coast region. 



Specimens examined: Montesano, Heller 3876; Henderson; Fort Vancouver, Tohnie; 

 Manor, Piper, July 14, 1899; Vancouver, Piper 4943. 



Zonal distribution: Humid Transition. 



SISYRINCHITJM. Blue-eyed grass. 



Bracts of the spathe linear, equally narrow, the inner exceeding the 



flowers, the outer much longer 1 . S. sarmentosum. 



Bracts of the spathe dissimilar, the inner broader than the outer and 

 always shorter than the flowers. 



Perianth-segments 4 to 7 mm. long, white or pale; leaves and 



stems 0.5 to 1 mm. wide 2. S. septentrionale. 



Perianth-segments 12 to 18 mm. long, blue. 



Stems usually 2-branched 3. S. birameum. 



Stems always simple. 



Leaves 1 to 3.5 mm. broad, firm; stems 1 to 3 mm. wide . 4. S. idahoense. 

 Leaves 0.5 to 1.5 mm. broad, soft; stems 1 to 1.5 

 . mm wide 5. S. segetum. 



1. Sis3ninchiuni sarmentosum Suksdorf, Erythca 3: 121. 1895. 

 Type locality: Skamania County, Washington. Collected by Suksdorf. 

 Range: Known only from the type locality. 



Specimens examined: Skamania County, Suksdorf 2233. 



2. Sisyrinchium septentrionale Bicknell, Bull. Torr. Club 26: 452. 1899. 

 Type locality: Moose Mountain Creek, Assiniboia. 



Range: Assiniboia to Washington and Idaho. 



Specimens examined: "Spokane to Colville," WilJces Expedition in 1838-1842. 



3. Sisyrinchium birameum sp. nov. 



Loosely tufted, 40 to 50 cm. high, the herbage discolored in drying; stems smooth, 

 erect, winged, the principal ones branched above, 1 to 2 mm. broad; leaves firm, erect, 

 rather few, about half the height of the stem, 2 to 3 mm. broad, acute; cauline leaf when 

 present 8 to 10 mm. long, the two peduncles usually exceeding it; bracts of the spathe 

 subequal, lanceolate, purplish, the inner 2 to 2.5 cm. long, always shorter than the pedicels, 

 the outer often of the same length, sometimes a half longer, both hyaline-margined and 

 attenuate-acute; flowers 2 to 5 on slender, erect pedicels; perianth dark blue with a yellow 

 eye, its segments 12 to 15 mm. long; stamineal column 5 to 6 mm. long; ovaries glandular- 

 puberulcnt; capsules globose, 4 to 5 mm. broad; seeds black, foveolate, 1 mm. long, the 

 angles irregularly winged. 



Collected in swamps near Vancouver, June 5, 1905, no. 4926, the type in the National 

 Herbarium. The species is closely allied to S. idahoense Bicknell, but its frequently 

 branched stems scarcely permit its association therewith. Typical S. idahoense occurred, 

 however, in drier ground near by and it is possible that our plant is merely a luxuriant 

 branched form of that species. 



