Blooms: March-June
Habit: herb
Duration: perennial
Origin: Native
Conservation Status: Abundant; of no concern.

Distribution: Widely distributed throughout Washington, but more common east of the Cascades crest; British Columbia south to California, east to Idaho, Nevada, and Utah.
Habitat: Coastal bluffs, prairies, open rocky areas, oak and ponderosa pine woodlands, sagebrush and juniper desert, where moist in early spring.

Species Description:

General: Showy grass-like perennial with clumped stems to 30 cm tall; stems flattened.
Leaves: Narrow (to 3 mm wide), flattened, sheathing at base, lower leaves bract-like.
Flowers: Showy, 1-few in an umbel subtended by two erect spathe-like leaves; tepals 6, to 2 cm long, reddish-purple to pink (rarely white) with a satiny sheen; stamens 3, filaments fused and slightly enlarged at base; styles 3; ovary wholly inferior. Flowering March to June.
Fruits: 3-celled capsules to 1 cm long.

Distinguishing Characteristics: This species is separated from our other Sisyrinchium species by its reddish-purple or pink flowers and filaments connate only on the lower 1/3-1/2 of their length (vs. yellow or blue flowers and filaments connate nearly to their tip in our other species).

Notes: One of our earliest blooming springtime wildflowers, and sure to catch your eye with its large cheerful blooms.

Subspecies & Varieties:

Olsynium douglasii A. Deitr.

Treated in Flora of the PNW as:

PNW Herbaria Specimens: View list of Olsynium douglasii specimens in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database.

WTU Herbarium Specimens: View list of Olsynium douglasii specimens in the WTU Herbarium database.

Washington Flora Checklist: Olsynium douglasii treatment.

E-Flora BC: Olsynium douglasii atlas page.

CalPhotos: Olsynium douglasii images.

USDA Plants Database: Olsynium douglasii.