''Sisyrinchium'' is a large

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Iridaceae Iridaceae is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the irises, meaning rainbow, referring to its many colours. There are 66 accepted genera with a total of c. 2244 species worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016). It include ...

. Native to the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

, the species are known as blue-eyed grasses and, though not true grasses and in varieties with flower colors other than blue, are

monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of ...

s. Several species in the eastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

are threatened or endangered.

Description

These are not true

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

es, but many species have the general appearance of grasses, as they are low-growing plants with long, thin leaves. They often grow on grasslands. Many species resemble

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

es, to which they are more closely related. Most species grow as

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

s, from a

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

, though some are short-lived (e.g. ''

Sisyrinchium striatum ''Sisyrinchium striatum'', common names pale yellow-eyed-grass or satin flower, is an evergreen perennial plant in the family Iridaceae Iridaceae is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the irises, meaning rainbow, r ...

)'', and some are annuals (e.g. '' Sisyrinchium iridifolium''). The flowers are relatively simple and often grow in clusters. Many species, particularly the South American ones, are not blue, despite the common name. The genus includes species with blue, white, yellow, and purple petals, often with a contrasting centre. Of the species in the United States, the

Western Blue-eyed Grass ''Sisyrinchium bellum'', the western blue-eyed grass or Californian blue-eyed grass, is the common blue-eyed grass of California and Oregon in and west of the Sierra Nevada, its range extending south into Baja California. In parts of its range ...

''(Sisyrinchium bellum'') is sometimes found with white flowers, while the California Golden-eyed Grass (''Sisyrinchium californicum'') has yellow flowers.

Taxonomy

The genus was named by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in 1753, based on the species ''

Sisyrinchium bermudiana ''Sisyrinchium bermudiana'', known as Bermudiana or, along with other members of the genus, as blue-eyed grass, is a flower of the genus ''Sisyrinchium'' (of the iris family) that is indigenous to the Atlantic archipelago, and British Overseas ...

'' (commonly called ''Bermudiana''). The taxonomy of this genus is rather perplexing and confusing, as several of these species, such as ''

Sisyrinchium angustifolium ''Sisyrinchium angustifolium'', commonly known as narrow-leaf blue-eyed-grass, is a herbaceous perennial growing from rhizomes, native to moist meadow and open woodland. It is the most common blue-eyed grass of the eastern United States ...

'', form complexes with many variants named as species. More genetic research and

cladistic Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups (" clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived char ...

analysis need to be performed to sort out the relationships between the species. Some species, notably '' Sisyrinchium douglasii'', have been transferred to the separate genus ''

Olsynium ''Olsynium'' is a genus of summer- dormant rhizomatous perennial flowering plants in the iris family Iridaceae, native to sunny hillsides in South America and western North America. Douglas, G.W., Meidinger, D. & Penny, J.L. (2002). Rare Native V ...

''.

Etymology

''Sisyrinchíon'' is the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word, recorded by

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

and

Theophrastus Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routledge ...

, for the Barbary nut iris (''Iris'' or ''Moraea sisyrinchium''), and refers to the way the

corm A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ' ...

tunics resemble a shaggy

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

's-hair coat, ''sisýra''. Authors as early as 1666Ambrosini, Giacinto. 1666. Phytologiae give the dubious etymology of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''sūs'' "pig" and Greek ''rhynchos'' "nose", referring to

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

s grubbing the roots. As Goldblatt and Manning explain, "the reason for applying the name to a genus of New World Iridaceae was apparently arbitrary."

Selected species

There are up to 200 species,Search for "Sisyrinchium", including:

Gallery

Image:Sisyrinchium-campestre.jpg, Prairie blue-eyed grass ('' Sisyrinchium campestre'') Image:Sisyrinchium-montanum.jpg, Strict blue-eyed grass ('' Sisyrinchium montanum var. montanum'') Image:Sisyrinchium-mucronatum.jpg, Needletip blue-eyed grass (''

Sisyrinchium mucronatum ''Sisyrinchium'' is a large genus of annual to perennial flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. Native to the New World, the species are known as blue-eyed grasses and, though not true grasses and in varieties with flower colors other than blu ...

'') Image:Sisyrinchium-fuscatum.jpg, Coastalplain blue-eyed grass ('' Sisyrinchium fuscatum'')

References

*Rudall, P. J., A. Y. Kenton, and T. J. Lawrence. 1986 - An anatomical and chromosomal investigation of ''Sisyrinchium'' and allied genera. Bot. Gaz. 147: 466–477 Ajilvsgi, Geyata. 1984 - Wildflowers of Texas. Library of Congress: 84-50025

External links

Flora of North America

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2357709 Iridaceae genera