Sisyrinchium minus Engelm. & A. Gray, least blue–eyed grass. Annual, fibrous–rooted at base of shoot, lacking rhizome, several–stemmed at base, ascending, each shoot having a terminal inflorescence, in range to 25 cm tall; shoots with several leaves (some = bracts), strongly 2–ranked and flattened, each leaf sharply folded base to tip and appressed lengthwise along midrib (replicate) and with overlapping leaf bases (equitant), leaves oriented vertically, glabrous.
Stems compressed, to 3 mm wide, bulging at nodes and sometimes with purplish mark on bulge.
Leaves alternate distichous, simple and sheathing at base; sheath closed, to 12 mm long; blade linear, strap–shaped, and equally folded from base, to 90 × 2.5—4 mm, entire with membranous margin somewhat above sheath, acuminate at tip, parallel–veined with flat surfaces, keel not thickened, glabrous.
Inflorescence compound umbel–like cyme, strongly 2–dimensionally flattened side–to–side (rhipidium), to 3 nodes long, having a system of alternate distichous bracts, with an ascending leaflike primary bract at each node; inflorescence axis jointed, somewhat bent at nodes, at ultimate node having flowers arising from within a pair of bracts forming a narrowly ellipsoid involucre enclosing several unopened flowers + bractlets subtending pedicels, flowers within spathe alternate distichous, at anthesis each flower is exserted from the involucre and opening sequentially, glabrous; peduncle of spathe ascending, slender, < 50 mm long, wiry; involucre outer bract of involucre (spathe) closed at base 4 mm, leaflike blade to 25 mm long, sharply folded base to tip concealing most of inner bract, acuminate at tip, with membranous margins; inner bract hidden to midpoint of outer bract, where flowers exserted, open at base; bractlet subtending pedicel included, = a membranous sheath to 7 mm long, reduced to the youngest flower; pedicel with exserted flower from involucre, slender and flexible, green, initially exserted to the opposite side of developing fruits.
Flower bisexual, radial, ca. 5 mm across; tepals 6 in 2 whorls, forming a bell–shaped to funnel–shaped perianth, arising from green receptacle, ± monomorphic, obovate, ± 5.5 mm long including tail–like tip, 2 mm wide and 5–veined (outer whorl) and 1.5—1.7 mm wide and 3–veined (inner whorl), pale rose–purple with purple veins and having a yellow triangle at base, together forming a 6–pointed bright yellow star in center of perianth, each tepal with a midvein to midpoint and having several scattered nonglandular short hairs and stalked glandular hairs with minute heads; stamens 3, fused into tapered column narrowly lanceolate in outline, 2 × 0.6 mm (0.25 mm diameter at top), whitish, lower portion covered with yellowish glandular hairs and also scattered above midpoint; anthers dorsifixed, dithecal, ± 0.7 mm long, bright yellow, longitudinally and outwardly dehiscent; pollen bright yellow; pistil 1, exserted to level of the top of anther sacs; ovary inferior, oblong 3–lobed, ± 1.5 × 0.9 mm, green, with scattered stalked glandular hairs, 3–chambered, each chamber with 12+ ovules in 2 stacks; style ± 2.3 mm long, white, with 3 erect stigma lobes at tip 0.4 mm long.
Fruit capsule, loculicidal, pendent on slender and wiry, recurved pedicel, many–seeded, ± short club–shaped, < 5—5.5 × 2.5 mm, light brown, bulging at seeds.
Seed subspheroid with 1 side depressed, 0.5—0.8 mm long, minutely bumpy.
A. C. Gibson