Herbs, perennial, cespitose, olive to bronze-olive when dry, to 3.2 dm, not glaucous. Stems branched, with 1 or 2 nodes, often purplish, 0.5-2(-2.2) mm wide, glabrous, margins entire to denticulate, similar in color and texture to stem body; first internode 3.2-7.2 cm, usually shorter than leaves; distalmost node with 1-3 branches. Leaf blades glabrous, bases not persistent in fibrous tufts. Inflorescences borne singly; spathes purplish-tinged basally and sometimes along margins, obviously wider than supporting branch, glabrous, keels entire to occasionally denticulate; outer 12.5-25 mm, 0.9-2.7 mm longer than inner, tapering evenly towards apex, margins basally connate 2.2-3.8 (-5) mm; inner with keel evenly curved or straight, hyaline margins 0.2-0.4 mm wide, apex acuminate to acute or occasionally obtuse, ending 0-1.5 mm proximal to green apex. Flowers: tepals pale blue to bluish violet or white, bases yellow; outer tepals 6.1-10 mm, apex rounded to truncate, aristate; filaments connate ± entirely, glabrous or sparsely stipitate-glandular basally; ovary similar in color to foliage. Capsules medium brown to black, ± globose, 3.1-4.7 mm; pedicel spreading or ascending. Seeds globose to obconic, lacking obvious depression, 0.9-1.1 mm, rugulose. 2n = 32.

Flowering spring. Moist prairies, roadsides, open woods; 0--200 m; Ala., Ark., Ga., La., Miss., Okla., Tenn., Tex.

Sisyrinchium implicatum E. P. Bicknell probably belongs here; the type (Hilgard s.n., Apr 1858, Calhoun Co., Mississippi, MO) was not seen.

Sisyrinchium langloisii is to be expected in northeastern Mexico.