Surprise Blue-Eyed Grass in the Lawn

One side of the lawn was allowed to grow long for the want of a mower. Before the machine was fixed the grass reached a foot high and some went to seed. The area really didn’t look that bad because of the sparseness of the grass. It is a very shady area that has a cool dampness to it. The grass that grows here is thin and different from the grass growing in sunnier spots. To my surprise there appeared a new plant in the unmowed area, Blue-Eyed Grass.

Blue-eyed grasses easily hide among the grass in the lawn, especially when not in flower.
Blue-eyed grasses easily hide among the grass in the lawn, especially when not in flower. Note the flower bud on the top right and the seed pods on the top left. Photo taken at 9:30 a.m., 9 June 2011.

(Click on any photo to see a larger image.)

The blue-eyed grass was only noticed when a blossom had opened. There it was, this cute, light blue flower with a yellow “eye” ring and curiously pointed tips on its petals.

Blue-eyed grasses are members of the Iris family, Iridaceae. Nine or ten species native to the USA of the Sisyrinchium genus are separated according to branching of the flower stalk and the shapes of the leaves and stems.

Leaves are grass-like blades. The central rib of each leaf blade is enlarged and that is easily felt by running your fingers down the leaf.

Leaf blades of blue-eyed grass.
Leaf blades of blue-eyed grass. Photo taken 9 June 2011.

Green seed pods develop into round balls that dangle at the tips of the flower stems.

Flowers are true to iris form with three petals and three sepals making the blossom appear to have six petals. Each “petal” has a pointed tip.

Blue eyes are open in the grass by the afternoon.
Blue eyes are open in the grass by the afternoon or perhaps whenever they get enough sunlight. Photo taken at 2:45 p.m., 9 June 2011.
Flower petals are adorned with pointed tips.
Flower petals are adorned with pointed tips. Photo taken 9 June 2011.

The species of blue-eyed grass here is Stout Blue-eyed Grass, S. angustifolium, also called Pointed Blue-eyed Grass, as the stems are branched, leaves are less than a quarter-inch wide, and the flower stalks are long. It’s a perennial that reaches 4-18 inches tall. According to Peterson’s Medicinal Plants Guide, blue-eyed grass leaf and root teas were once used as a laxative, to expel worms, to treat stomach-ache, and in children, to relieve diarrhea.

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