_Flowers_--From blue to purple, with a yellow centre; a Western
variety, white; usually several buds at the end of the stem, between 2
erect unequal bracts; about 1/2 in. across; perianth of 6 spreading
divisions, each pointed with a bristle from a notch; stamens 3, the
filaments united to above the middle; pistil 1, its tip 3-cleft.
_Stem:_ 3 to 14 in. tall, pale hoary green, flat, rigid, 2-edged.
_Leaves:_ Grass-like, pale, rigid, mostly from base. _Fruit:_ 3-celled
capsule, nearly globose.

_Preferred Habitat_--Moist fields and meadows.

_Flowering Season_--May-August.

_Distribution_--Newfoundland to British Columbia, from eastern slope of
Rocky Mountains to Atlantic, south to Virginia and Kansas.

Only for a day, and that must be a bright one, will this "little sister
of the stately blue flag" open its eyes, to close them in indignation on
being picked; nor will any coaxing but the sunshine's induce it to open
them again in water, immediately after. The dainty flower, growing in
dense tufts, makes up in numbers what it lacks in size and lasting
power, flecking our meadows with purplish ultramarine blue on a sunny
June morning. Later in the day, apparently there are no blossoms there,
for all are tightly closed, never to bloom again. New buds will unfold
to tinge the field on the morrow.

Usually three buds nod from between a pair of bracts, the lower one of
which may be twice the length of the upper one; but only one flower
opens at a time. Slight variations in this plant have been considered
sufficient to differentiate several species formerly included by Gray