The colors below indicate the kind of documentation available for this species
in the California counties where it occurs.
Blue-eyed Grass Sisyrinchium bellum (Iridaceae)
Blue-eyed grass does not look like a typical iris. What looks like six equal petals are really three sepals alternating with three petals. They just happen to be alike in color and texture. In other irises, the three sepals spread outward and are called falls. The three "real" petals, which are more robust, are called standards. The fall is a sepal and not a petal. Typically, sepals are green and look much like modified leaves. In most irises, however, the sepals are highly modified and look like petals.
DISTRIBUTION: Open grassy areas and woodlands throughout much of Calif.; mostly < 2400 m.
