Bermudiana

Description

Sisyrinchium bermudiana, known as Bermudiana or, along with other members of the genus, as blue-eyed-grass, is a flower of the genus Sisyrinchium (of the iris family) that is indigenous to the Atlantic archipelago, and British Overseas Territory, of Bermuda. The plant appears and blooms in the spring. It has been used as a totemic flower by Bermudians, and appears in art, jewellery, banknotes and elsewhere. Long believed to be limited to Bermuda, the plant has also been found around Lough Erne and Lough Melvin in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, where it is known as feilistrín gorm, or blue-eyed grass. Sisyrinchium bermudiana was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The first described species in the genus Sisyrinchium, it is thus the type species. Linnaeus's specific epithet bermudiana was not an adjective (and thus does not have to agree in gender with Sisyrinchium) but a noun in apposition, derived from the earlier genus name Bermudiana. He showed this by capitalizing the epithet, but modern practice is to use lower-case for all epithets. Sisyrinchium is a large genus of annual to perennial flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. Native to the New World, the species are known as blue-eyed grasses and, though not true grasses and in varieties with flower colors other than blue, are monocots. Several species in the eastern United States are threatened or endangered. These are not true grasses, but many species have the general appearance of grasses, as they are low-growing plants with long, thin leaves. They often grow on grasslands. Many species resemble irises, to which they are more closely related. Most species grow as perennial plants, from a rhizome, though some are short-lived (e.g. S. striatum), and some are annuals (e.g. S. iridifolium). The flowers are relatively simple and often grow in clusters. Many species, particularly the South American ones, are not blue, despite the common name. The genus includes species with blue, white, yellow, and purple petals, often with a contrasting centre. Of the species in the United States, the Western Blue-eyed Grass, Sisyrinchium bellum, is sometimes found with white flowers, while the California Golden-eyed Grass, Sisyrinchium californicum, has yellow flowers.