Olsynium douglasii var. douglasii

Purple-eyed-grass, grass widows, Grass Widows

Family: Iridaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Purple-eyed-grass is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern North Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, and Modoc Plateau in open, vernally moist places at elevations below 2,200 meters. Flowering in spring, this plant produces delicate purple flowers with distinctive eye-like centers, typically 18 to 33 millimeters long. Growing in strongly tufted clusters less than 31 centimeters tall, it forms dense, compact clumps with slender stems. Its leaves are narrow and grass-like, emerging from the base in tight, clustered arrangements. The plant's unique filament tube enlarges slightly above its base, giving it a characteristic structural elegance.

Habitat: Open, vernally moist, often rocky places

Bloom period: Spring

Elevation: < 2200 m

Bioregions: KR, n NCoRO, CaR, MP

California counties: Modoc, Siskiyou, Lassen, Humboldt, Trinity

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.