38 KEY AND FLORA 



covered by the petal-like branches of the style. Perennials 

 with dagger-shaped leaves and large rootstocks. 



a. I. macrosi'phon Torr. Stems low, forming mats of bright green, 

 narrow, erect leaves, amid which the flowers arise, overtopped by the 

 leaves. Perianth with a slender tube from 1 to 4 ^ n - long, easily break- 

 ing. Flowers dark blue, rarely cream-color. 



b. I. Douglasia'na Herbert. Taller than the last, but also growing 

 in mats. Leaves dark green, rose-color at base, laxly spreading. 

 Stems bent about the middle. Tube of the perianth slender, an inch 

 or more long. Flowers variable in color ; cream, rose-color, violet, 

 and purplish blue. This is the most widely distributed species. 



c. I. longipet'ala Herbert. Stems stout, more than a foot high. 

 Leaves glaucous. Flowers larger than the preceding. Perianth 

 funnel-form at base, sessile on the ovary. Sepals from 2 to 3 in. long, 

 beautifully veined with yellow and violet. Petals shorter. Petal-like 

 branches of the style with broad crests. This Iris covers acres of 

 ground in low places near San Francisco. 



d. I. Missourien'sis. Stems slender, the few leaves shorter than 

 the stem. Bracts papery, dilated. Flowers blue, generally 2 in a 

 spathe. Sepals and petals 2 or 3 in. long, with narrow claws. This 

 grows in moist or wet places and is widely distributed. It blooms 

 in spring. 



II. SISYRIN'CHIUM, Blue-eyed Grass, Star-eyed Grass 



Perianth 6-parted, with the spreading divisions all alike. 

 Stamens monadelphous. Stigmas 3-cleft, very slender, usually 

 twisted together. These are small grass-like perennials, with 

 pretty flowers that soon wither, borne on slender scapes. 



a. S. bellum Watson. BLUE-EYED GRASS. Stems usually about 

 a foot high. Leaves shorter. Spathes 2, nearly equal, enveloping 

 the flowers in bud. Flowers 4-7 1 purplish blue, yellow at the center. 

 Divisions 3-toothed or tipped with a point. Stamens with the filaments 

 united to the anthers. Stigmas short, hardly apparent. Capsule 

 globular. This is common in damp places. 



b. S. grandiflo'rum Dougl. Scapes about a foot high. Spathe with 

 1-4 flowers, flattened but not winged, surpassing the leaves. Bracts 

 broad, unequal, the larger exceeding the flowers. Perianth an inch 

 and a half across, reddish purple, occasionally white. Filaments 

 united only at the broad base. Style merely cleft at apex. This most 

 beautiful species ranges from northern California to British Columbia. 



c. S. Calif or'nicum Ait. STAR-EYED GRASS, GOLDEN-EYED GRASS. 

 Scape winged, a foot or more high, longer than the leaves. Flowers 



