Blue-Eyed Grass. Azulea. Villela
Sisyrinchium Bellum, Wats. Iris Family
Leaves.—Radical; grasslike; shorter than the stems. Stems.—Flat; clustered; six to eighteen inches high. Flowers.—Four to seven; contained in two nearly equal sheathing bracts. Perianth.—Six-parted; purplish-blue, with yellow center; six lines to an inch across. Stamens.—Three. Filaments united. Ovary.—Three-celled. Style filiform. Stigma spindle-shaped; three-cleft after fertilization. Hab.—Throughout California.
The blue-eyed grass is such a modest flower, one would never suspect it to be closely allied to the regal Iris. In late spring its quiet stars are found in our meadows everywhere. In the south it grows so luxuriantly and so determinedly that it has become a serious pest to the farmer, crowding more useful plants from the pasture.
Owing to the quaint manner in which its petals kink up when they fade, these blossoms are called “nigger-babies” by the children. Among the Spanish-Californians the plant is known as “azulea” and “villela,” and is made into a tea, which is considered a valuable remedy in fevers. It is thought that a patient can subsist for many days upon it alone.
S. Californicum, Ait., the “golden-eyed grass,” with bright yellow flowers, is found in wet places all up and down the Coast.