Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sisyrinchium mucronatum
FAMILY
Iridaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Sisyrinchium from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sisyrinchium mucronatum
FAMILY
Iridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Sisyrinchium mucronatum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 046-02-003a:
Sisyrinchium mucronatum var. mucronatum FAMILY Iridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sisyrinchium mucronatum
COMMON NAME:
Needletip Blue-eyed-grass
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_s_mucronatum_0086
April Catawba County NC
Tepals usually rounded at tip w small needle-like projection at the very tip, per www.minnesotawildflowers.info.
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_s_mucronatum_0086b
April Catawba County NC
Each scape has a solitary sessile purple spathe bearing clusters of flowers, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_s_mucronatum_2
April Catawba County NC
Leaves very narrow, the flattened winged stems unbranched & only 1/16" wide, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_s_mucronatum_1
May Catawba County NC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sisyrinchium mucronatum
FAMILY
Iridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sisyrinchium mucronatum
FAMILY
Iridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Sisyrinchium mucronatum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 046-02-003a:
Sisyrinchium mucronatum var. mucronatum
FAMILY
Iridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sisyrinchium mucronatum
2695
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: forests, woodlands, fields, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Carolina Mountains & NC Piedmont, uncommon to rare southward
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Blue
Radially symmetrical
6 tepals: perianth rotate, tepals abruptly spreading in a plane
3 united stamens
Inferior ovary
Inflorescences solitary, not paired (thus, only 1 pair of chartaceous scales within the 2 green spathe bracts)
FRUIT:
Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p434
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p388
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p444
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p020
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".