Michaux's Blue-eyed-grass Scientific Name Family Name Sisyrinchium mucronatum Michx. Iridaceae Iris Family Did you know? The name mucronatum means with a short straight point (Fernald 1970) as is probably in reference to the pointed tips of the petals. Summary Protection Endangered in New York State, not listed federally. Rarity G5, S1 This level of state protection means: listed species are those with: 1) 5 or fewer extant sites, or 2) fewer than 1,000 individuals, or 3) restricted to fewer than 4 U.S.G.S. 7 ½ minute topographical maps, or 4) species listed as endangered by U.S. Department of Interior. A global rarity rank of G5 means: This species is demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery. A state rarity rank of S1 means: This plant is endangered/critically imperiled in New York because of extreme rarity (typically 5 or fewer populations or very few remaining individuals) or is extremely vulnerable to extirpation from New York due to biological NYNHP Conservation Guide - Michaux's Blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium mucronatum)
factors. Conservation Status in New York There are 7 known extant populations and about 16 to 18 populations which have not been seen in over 35 years and are considered historical. Ample habitat for this species exists in New York, but New York is close to the northern edge of its range. Short-term Trends Two populations that were known extant within the past 20 years were searched for again without success. In both cases more survey work is needed to determine if these populations have become extirpated. Overall, short term trends are not clear. Long-term Trends There are at least 16 populations which have not been seen in over 30 years, some of which, have not been seen in over 100 years. Most of these populations have not been searched for recently and therefore, it is difficult to determine their current status. No population is known to have become extirpated. Six out of the 7 known extant populations were first discovered within the past 20 years. These "new" populations were probably overlooked in the past. Also since this species likes early successional habitats it may move around and not stay in one site for too long. The open habitat that this species requires is very abundant and in general should not be a limiting factor for this species in New York. Overall, long term trends are not clear. Conservation and Management Threats At the one known maritime grassland population, threats include succession as a result of fire suppression, competition by non-native invasive plants, and horseback riding. Threats at other populations include succession and too frequent or poorly timed mowing. Conservation Strategies and Management Practices Habitat where populations occur should be managed to help keep these sites in an early successional stage. Fire might be one means of achieving this goal especially at the populations which occur on maritime grassland. Invasive species should be controlled if they appear to be negatively impacting the populations. Research Needs Populations that are only known historically should be surveyed to determine if they are still extant. Habitat In New York, this species occurs in open non-forested habitats that are usually herb-dominated or occasionally shrub and sapling-dominated. This includes fields, hayfields, successional fields, NYNHP Conservation Guide - Michaux's Blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium mucronatum) 2
pastures, roadsides, forest edges, and maritime grasslands. It also occurs in ditches and on disturbed soils. The soils vary from quite dry to at least seasonally wet, and may be acidic to calcareous (New York Natural Heritage Program 2008). Prairies, roadsides, moist open woods, rock and sandy open shores (Cholewa and Henderson 2002). Dry fields, roadsides, and open woods (Rhoads and Block 2000). Meadows, fields, open woods (Haines 1998). Meadows, fields, sandy places, and woods (Gleason & Cronquist 1991). Meadows, fields and open woods (Fernald 1970). Associated Ecological Communities Cropland/field Crops An agricultural field planted in field crops such as alfalfa, wheat, timothy, and oats. This community includes hayfields that are rotated to pasture. Maritime Grassland A grassland community that occurs on rolling outwash plains of the glaciated portion of the Atlantic coastal plain, near the ocean and within the influence of offshore winds and salt spray. Successional Old Field A meadow dominated by forbs and grasses that occurs on sites that have been cleared and plowed (for farming or development), and then abandoned or only occasionally mowed. Successional Shrubland A shrubland that occurs on sites that have been cleared (for farming, logging, development, etc.) or otherwise disturbed. This community has at least 50% cover of shrubs. Associated Species Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) Golden-fruited Sedge (Carex aurea) Limestone Meadow Sedge (Carex granularis) Hop Sedge (Carex lupulina) Maryland Golden Aster (Chrysopsis mariana) Roundfruit Panic Grass (Dichanthelium sphaerocarpon) Dudley's Rush (Juncus dudleyi) Greene's Rush (Juncus greenei) Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) Narrowleaf Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) Coastal-plain Blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium fuscatum) Strict Blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium montanum) Canada Goldenrod (Solidago altissima) Field Goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis) Identification Comments This species is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the Iris family. It grows in clumps to 42 cm tall. The stems produce clusters of flowers towards their apices. These flowers have six petals which are dark blue to bluish violet and have yellow bases. The flowers NYNHP Conservation Guide - Michaux's Blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium mucronatum) 3
mature into roundish capsules which contain numerous seeds (Cholewa and Henderson 2002). Best Life Stage for Identifying This Species This species can be identified when it is in flower or fruit. The Best Time to See The plants are predominately in bloom from late May through most of June. Occasionally plants will be found that are in bloom till as late as mid-july. The fruits begin to form soon after flowering begins in early to mid-june. Fruits predominately last through July although fruits can occasionally be found into September. It is easiest to spot and identify this species when it is in flower and therefore, the best time to survey for this species is from late May through the third week in June. Flowering Fruiting Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Similar Species The time of year you would expect to find Michaux's Blue-eyed-grass in New York. Sisyrinchium albidum can be distinguished by the rhipidia (cluster of flowers) occurring in a pair at the summit of the stems. Care needs to be taken in observing this character state. Each rhipidium is subtended by a pair of spathes. A leaf-like bract subtends the two pairs of spathes making it difficult to note that two rhipidia are present. In contrast, S. mucronatum has only one rhipidia with one pair of spathes at the summit of the stems. The spathes are not subtended by a leaf (Cholewa and Henderson 2002). Sisyrinchium angustifolium, S. atlanticum, and S. fuscatum usually have stems or a majority of stems per plant that branch. This character is best assessed in the field where more than one individual can be observed. Branching happens rapidly, just prior to anthesis, so immature plants may appear unbranched. In contrast, S. mucronatum usually has stems (or most stems) unbranched. All the stems may be branched in occasional plants so, as mentioned above, it is best to asses this character in the field where more than one individual can be observed (Cholewa and Henderson 2002). Sisyrinchium montanum is the most similar species that occurs in New York. In fact, narrow leaved individuals of S. montanum approach S. mucronatum. Sisyrinchium montanum can be distinguished by its wider ((1.5)2.0-3.7 mm wide), obviously winged stems and spathes that are green to bronze with margins rarely purplish. In contrast S. mucronatum has scarcely winged stems that are narrower (0.9-2.0 mm wide) and spathes that are purplish (or partly purplish) (Cholewa and Henderson 2002). NYNHP Conservation Guide - Michaux's Blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium mucronatum) 4
Conservation Comments The taxonomy of this species is straightforward although Bicknell (1899a, 1899b) described two additional species (Sisyrinchium intermedium and S. versicolor), both from south of New York, which have now been relegated to synonymy (Cholewa and Henderson 2002). Sisyrinchium mucronatum appears to morphologically approach narrow specimens of S. montanum in the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada (Cholewa and Henderson 2002) but although they may at times appear close, authors (Fernald 1970, Gleason and Cronquist 1991, Kartesz 1994, Haines 1998, Rhoads and Block 2000, Cholewa and Henderson 2002, Weakley 2007) do not lump these two species. Taxonomy Kingdom Phylum Plantae Anthophyta Class Monocots (Monocotyledoneae) Order Liliales Family Additional Common Names Iridaceae (Iris Family) Blue-eyed Grass Needle-tipped Blue-eyed-grass Additional Resources Links Flora of North America http://efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101915 New York Flora Atlas http://www.newyork.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant.aspx?id=6670 USDA Plants Database http://plants.usda.gov/java/namesearch?mode=sciname&keywordquery= SISYRINCHIUM+MUCRONATUM NatureServe Explorer http://natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/natureserve?searchname=sisyrinchium+mucr ONATUM Google Images http://images.google.com/images?q=sisyrinchium+mucronatum References Bicknell, E.P. 1899. Studies in Sisyrinchium - V: two new eastern species. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 26: 496-499. Bicknell, E.P. 1899. Studies in Sisyrinchium - VI: additional new species from the southern states. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 26: 605-616. NYNHP Conservation Guide - Michaux's Blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium mucronatum) 5
Cholewa, A.F. and D.M. Henderson. 2002. Sisyrinchium Linnaeus. Pages 351-371 in Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Editors), Flora of North America, North of Mexico, Volume 26, Magnoliophyta: Liliidae: Liliales and Orchidales. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, USA. Clemants, Steven and Carol Gracie. 2006. Wildflowers in the Field and Forest. A Field Guide to the Northeastern United States. Oxford University Press, New York, NY. 445 pp. Fernald, M.L. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. 8th edition. D. Van Nostrand, New York. 1632 pp. Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York. 910 pp. Haines, Arthur and Thomas F. Vining. 1998. Flora of Maine. A Manual for Identification of Native and Naturalized Vascular Plants of Maine. Holmgren, Noel. 1998. The Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist's Manual. Illustrations of the Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York. Keys, Jr.,J.; Carpenter, C.; Hooks, S.; Koenig, F.; McNab, W.H.; Russell, W.;Smith, M.L. 1995. Ecological units of the eastern United States - first approximation (cd-rom), Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. GIS coverage in ARCINFO format, selected imagery, and map unit tables. NatureServe. 2005. NatureServe Central Databases. Arlington, Virginia. USA New York Natural Heritage Program. 2010. Biotics database. New York Natural Heritage Program. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Albany, NY. Newcomb, Lawrence. 1977. Newcomb's Wildflower Guide: An Ingenious New Key System for Quick, Positive Field Identification of the Wildflowers, Flowering Shrubs, and Vines of Northeastern and North-Central North America. Little, Brown and Company. Boston. Rhoads, Ann F. and Timothy A. Block. 2000. The Plants of Pennsylvania, an Illustrated Manual. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, PA. Voss, E.G. 1972. Michigan Flora, Part I. Gymnosperms and Monocots. Cranbrook Institute of Science Bulletin 55 and the University of Michigan Herbarium. Ann Arbor. 488 pp. Weakley, A. S. 2007. Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia, and surrounding areas. Working draft of 11 January 2007. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Online. Available: http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm (accessed 2007). Weldy, T. and D. Werier. 2010. New York flora atlas. [S.M. Landry, K.N. Campbell, and L.D. Mabe (original application development), Florida Center for Community Design and Research http://www.fccdr.usf.edu/. University of South Florida http://www.usf.edu/]. New York Flora Association http://wwws.nyflora.org/, Albany, New York Weldy, Troy W. and David Werier. 2005. New York Flora Atlas. [S.M. Landry, K.N. Campbell, and L.D. Mabe (original application development), Florida Center for Community Design and Research. University of South Florida]. New York Flora Association, Albany, NY. Available on the web at (http://atlas.nyflora.org/). New York Natural Heritage Program 625 Broadway, 5th Floor, Albany, NY 12233-4757 NYNHP Conservation Guide - Michaux's Blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium mucronatum) 6
Phone: (518) 402-8935 acris@nynhp.org This project is made possible with funding from: - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program NYNHP Conservation Guide - Michaux's Blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium mucronatum) 7
- Division of Lands & Forests, Department of Environmental Conservation - New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Information for this guide was last updated on Aug 15, 2017 This guide was authored by NYNHP Conservation Guide - Michaux's Blue-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium mucronatum) 8