Sisyrinchium pruinosum, syn. Sisyrinchium langloisii, the Dotted Blue-eyed Grass, is a perennial plant

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

 in the Iridaceae

Iridaceae

The Iris family or Iridaceae is a family of perennial, herbaceous and bulbous plants included in the monocot order Asparagales, taking its name from the genus Iris. Almost worldwide in distribution and one of the most important families in horticulture, it includes more than 2000 species...

 family.

Description

• Plant: Upright or scrawling, clumped, delicate, smooth perennial 3.5-12 in.(9-30 cm) high; stems slender, usually several, unbranched, flattened, not conspicuously winged as in some species."
  
• Flower: up to 1.125 in.(3 cm) across, violet-purple to purple-blue, rarely white, the 6 segments all appearing petallike, wide-spreading. Flowers usually 1 or a few in cluster at tip of stem, closing during overcast weather."
  
• Leaves: up to 9 in.(22.5 cm) long, .125 in.(3 mm) wide, basal, slender, grasslike and flattened like flower stem"
  
• Habitat: Clay or sandy clay in open prairies, pastures, meadows, open woodlands and oak uplands. In all except PH, FW."
  

These plants are usually found in abundance and can be spectacular on warm, sunny days where they cover entire pastures with almost solid sheets of blue. They are very beautiful used as borders in the wildflower garden. The Sisyrinchium hybridize readily, often making species identification quite difficult."

Synonyms

Sisyrinchium pruinosum

• Sisyrinchium langloisii
• Sisyrinchium brayi
• Sisyrinchium canbyi
• Sisyrinchium colubriferum
• Sisyrinchium helleri
• Sisyrinchium varians

External links

• USDA: as Sisyrinchium langloisii