Strict Blue-eyed-grass

Sisyrinchium montanum

Ecology & Conservation

Proximity Score: 0
Native Status: ✅ Outaouais ✅ Ottawa ✅ QC ✅ ON
Closest Direction: Local
CEC Eco-Regions: 5 – Northern Forests, 5.2 – Mixed Wood Shield, 5.2.3 – Algonquin/Southern Laurentians
Rarity Notes: Globally secure (G5) with broad North American range from Quebec to British Columbia. S5 (Secure) in Ontario. Not ranked in Quebec but widespread with 527 QC herbarium specimens in GBIF. Not listed under SARA or COSEWIC.
S22 G5, S5 ON, SNR QC; S48 527 QC specimens; S26 not SARA listed
Rarity Ranks: QC SNR – Not Ranked, ON S5 – Secure
Migration: Stable
Ecological Context: Occupies moist open meadows, sandy or gravelly shores, forest edges, and disturbed clearings across the Mixed Wood Shield. Common in both calcareous and acidic substrates, tolerating a wide range of soil textures from clay loam to sand. Often found with other meadow forbs in roadsides and old fields. One of the most common native blue-eyed-grasses in northern Ontario and Quebec.
S7 habitats; S61 forest edges, meadows, shores; S4 moist sandy meadows; S62 Common in Ottawa

Roles: Pollinator Attractor
S73/S29/S72 Evidence: Pollinator Attractor: S73 [MEDIUM]: S68 3 bee associations (threshold=3)]
Notes: Low-growing meadow species suited for rock gardens, rain gardens, and container gardens. Pairs well with other ground-layer forbs in open sunny sites. Complementary plants from OWSL include pussytoes, wild strawberry, and related blue-eyed-grass species that share similar moisture and light requirements.
S3 landscape uses + complementary plants

Category: Cathartic, Febrifuge
S28 Moerman Drug categories: Cathartic, Misc. Disease Remedy
Notes: Iroquois used as a physic (cathartic) for elderly. Decoction taken for fevers including malaria and scarlet fever but not typhoid. Also feared as a potential poison by the Iroquois (Herrick 1977).
S28 Moerman NAEB, Herrick 1977

❌ Not Edible