Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Sisyrinchium dichotomum
FAMILY
Iridaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Sisyrinchium from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sisyrinchium dichotomum
FAMILY
Iridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sisyrinchium dichotomum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Sisyrinchium dichotomum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Sisyrinchium dichotomum
COMMON NAME:
White Irisette, Isothermal Irisette
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm230320_1723
March Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
)
Pam Torlina pam_050709_1172
May Polk County NC
)
Pam Torlina pam_052010_4069
May Polk County NC
Perianth with tepals abruptly spreading in a plane; tepals white, per Weakley's Flora.
)
Pam Torlina pam_052010_4070_1
May Polk County NC
It has several pedunculate spathes that become progressively smaller upwards, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Dan Whitten sdw_white_irisette
May Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
)
Pam Torlina pam_062608_321
June Polk County NC
Tepals recurved at maturity, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm230720_4641
July Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
Stems branched, with 2-5 nodes, the branching dichotomous, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
)
Samantha Tessel sam071221_7122434
July Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
Outer tepals 3.3-7.5mm, apex apparently rounded, aristate, per Flora of North America.
)
Samantha Tessel sam071221_7122435
July Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
)
Samantha Tessel sam_2771
August Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Sisyrinchium dichotomum
FAMILY
Iridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sisyrinchium dichotomum
FAMILY
Iridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sisyrinchium dichotomum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Sisyrinchium dichotomum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Sisyrinchium dichotomum
1390
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Dry to mesic woodlands and forests, usually over mafic rocks (such as amphibolite), at low to moderate elevations (400-1000 m) in the Blue Ridge escarpment, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas
Rare, endemic to Henderson, Polk & Rutherford counties, NC, & Greenville Co, SC
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
6 tepals: perianth rotate, tepals abruptly spreading in a plane
3 united stamens
Inferior ovary
Bisexual
Inflorescences solitary, not paired (thus, only 1 pair of chartaceous scales within the 2 green spathe bracts)
FRUIT:
Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p090
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p020
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".