Olsynium douglasii

Olsynium douglasii is a species of flowering plant in the iris family (Iridaceae). Common names include Douglas' olsynium,[2] Douglas' grasswidow,[3] grass-widow, blue-eyed grass, purple-eyed-grass, and satin flower,[4] It is the only species in the genus Olsynium in North America, the remaining 11 species being from South America. It was formerly treated in the related genus Sisyrinchium. Despite the common names, it is not a true grass (Poaceae).

Look up grass widow in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Olsynium douglasii
Olsynium douglasii var. douglasii in Anacortes Community Forest Lands
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Genus: Olsynium
Species:
O. douglasii
Binomial name
Olsynium douglasii
Synonyms[1]
  • Eriphilema grandiflora (Raf.) Herb.
  • Olsynium grandiflorum Raf.
  • Sisyrinchium douglasii A.Dietr.
  • Sisyrinchium grandiflorum Douglas ex Lindl.
  • Sisyrinchium inalatum A.Nelson

It is a bulb forming herbaceous perennial, growing 10–40 cm (3.9–15.7 in) tall. The leaves are slender, linear, 10–30 cm (3+7⁄8–11+3⁄4 in) long and 1.5–3 mm broad. The showy flowers appear in early spring and are bell-shaped to star-shaped, 15–25 mm long, with six purple[5] tepals.

It is native to western North America, from southern British Columbia south to northern California, and east to northwest Utah.[6]

There are two varieties:

  • Olsynium douglasii var. douglasii. Coastal western North America. Flower filaments with a narrow base
  • Olsynium douglasii var. inflatum. Interior western North America. Flower filaments with an inflated base

This species has won the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.[7][8]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Olsynium douglasii.

References
  1. "Olsynium douglasii (A.Dietr.) E.P.Bicknell — The Plant List". www.theplantlist.org.
  2. "Olsynium douglasii". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  3. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Olsynium douglasii". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  4. "Douglas' Blue-eyed Grass - Olsynium douglasii var. douglasii - Common names - Encyclopedia of Life". Encyclopedia of Life.
  5. Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 72. ISBN 0-87842-280-3. OCLC 25708726.
  6. . Washington Burke Museum.
  7. "RHS Plantfinder - Olsynium douglasii". Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  8. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 69. Retrieved 14 April 2018.


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