BLUE-EYED GRASS
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BLUE-EYED GRASS

Sisyrinchium campestre
IRIS FAMILY (Iridiceae)

  • BLUE-EYED GRASS
  • BLUE-EYED GRASS
  • BLUE-EYED GRASS
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This native perennial grows up to 1 foot tall. It has one to several upright thin, leafless flower stems and long, narrow, grass-like basal leaves (D). Flower stems are winged, giving them a flat appearance. At the top are two green, overlapping bracts of unequal length from which the 1/2 inch flower heads emerge (B). The 6 white to dark blue “petals” consist of 3 true petals and 3 similar sepals, each with a sharp tip and a yellow base (B,C). In the center is a column of 3 yellow-to-orange-tipped, fused stamens. This delicate, early flowering plant with thin, leafless stems and grass-like basal leaves is not likely to be confused with any other early flowering prairie plant.

Found in prairies and open woods, flowering in May and June. At Neale Woods, it is uncommon in Jonas Prairie along upper Gifford Trail.

Other common names include Prairie Blue-Eyed Grass and White-Eyed Grass.

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