[Illustration: PLEATED-LEAF IRIS PRAIRIE CELESTIAL WOODLAND
CELESTIAL]
Perennial herbs with bulbs, corms, or rhizomes; leaves usually basal and
flattened at the sides; 3 sepals and 3 petals nearly equal; stamens 3;
ovary below the perianth; fruit a 3-celled capsule.
Pleated-Leaf Iris (_Herbertia caerulea_) has pleated leaves like the
celestials, but the flowers are quite different, the 3 sky-blue sepals
being large and spreading and the 3 petals small and inconspicuous. The
bases are white with violet markings. It is very abundant on the Coastal
Plain of Louisiana and Texas in April and May. The name is in honor of
William Herbert, a distinguished English botanist.
Prairie Celestial (_Nemastylis acuta_) has 6-parted sky-blue flowers
with the 3 sepals and 3 petals nearly equal, white at the base. The
2-branched thread-like styles, from which the name is derived, spread
horizontally between the 3 erect stamens. It grows on the prairies of
North Texas to Kansas and Tennessee.
Woodland Celestial (_Nemastylis texana_) with its steel-blue flowers is
more abundant in the southern part of the state in open post oak woods.
Like the pleated-leaf iris, the flowers of the celestials open late in
the morning and remain open only a few hours.
[Illustration: BLUE-EYED GRASSES
SWORD-LEAVED THUROW’S DWARF]
Sword-Leaved Blue-Eyed Grass (_Sisyrinchium ensigerum_) is one of many
blue-eyed grasses in the state, most of which have purplish-blue
flowers, 6-parted and about half an inch broad, marked at the base with
yellow. The flower has 3 erect united stamens. The flowers hang on
thread-like stalks from two boat-shaped leaves about an inch long. The
stems are winged, sword-shaped or outcurved, and have very fine
saw-toothed edges. South-central to Northwestern Texas in April and May.
In East Texas the prairie blue-eyed grass (_Sisyrinchium campestre_) is
common. It has pale blue flowers, and the outer floral leaf is prolonged
to a slender point, being 1½-2 in. long.
Dwarf Blue-Eyed Grass (_Sisyrinchium minus_) has small reddish-purple
flowers and an oblong seed capsule. Coastal Plain, Louisiana to Texas.
Spring.
Thurow’s Blue-Eyed Grass (_Sisyrinchium thurowi_) is a very small plant
with small yellow flowers found in the southeastern part of the state in
damp places. Spring.
[Illustration: GIANT IRIS]
Giant Blue-Flag or Iris (_Iris giganticaerulea_) is a tall iris found in
swampy places in East Texas and Louisiana, blooming in late April and
May. The color of this iris is quite variable, ranging from dark violet
to lavender and white. The recurved spreading sepals are 3-4 inches
long, and the petals are shorter and erect. The capsules are 3-4 in.
long with 6 rounded ridges.
Narrow Blue-Flag (_Iris virginica_) has been confused with the Carolina
iris, according to Dr. Small of the New York Botanical Garden, who has
recently described many new irises from Louisiana. The narrow blue-flag
is colored similarly to the giant iris, but has shorter 3-angled
capsules, very narrow leaves, and zig-zag stems. It is abundant on the
Coastal Plain in early spring.
Red-Brown Flag (_Iris fulva_) is also found in the swamps in East Texas.