BLUE-EYED-GRASS 



Sisyrinchium angustifolium Miller 



The starlike flowers of blue-eyed-grass open only in bright sun- 

 shine, and last but a single day. Thus in fields that were plentifully 

 sprinkled with them in the morning, not a flower will be found 

 among the grasslike leaves and stems in the afternoon. Its leaves 

 although very slender, resemble those of an iris, being flattened and 

 attached with their edges turned toward the stem. The plant is a 

 member of the Iris Family. 



This species of blue-eyed-grass has a wide range, from Virginia 

 to Colorado and northward to Newfoundland and British Colum- 

 bia. It has many close relatives, which can be distinguished from it 

 only by botanists who have made a special study of this group. 



The specimen sketched was gathered in the valley of Ghost 

 River, thirty-five miles from Banff, Alberta, Canada, at an altitude 

 of 4,000 feet. 



PLATE 2.38 



