Wildflowers!
by Jane Scully
 Blue-eyed Grass
(Sisyrinchium spp.)
There are a number of species of this late-spring and summer wildflower, and none of them has a blue eye. In fact, they have yellow eyes at the centers of their blue or violet petal-like flowers. The combination is perfect, a bright juxtaposition of delicate but opposite colors.
One way to know it is blue-eyed grass is the pointed (some call it "thorn-like") tip or point on each of the 6 "petals" of the ½ inch flower. Many single flowers bloom along each stem, which may be from 8 inches to 2 feet tall. Individual flowers do not live long.
These charming inhabitants of the meadows and low woods look up at the viewer from stiff, grassy leaves and stems, often in clumps along open woodland pathways and moist areas. They can be found in many of our parks and throughout the county. Check our Nature Finder on the Online home page to find a site where the looking is good.
Summer is fast approaching, so go out now and see these ephemeral spring wildflowers before tree leaves block out all light to the forest floor.
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