Sisyrinchium calciphilum Sorrie is described from a three county area of northwestern Alabama. The new species resembles S. albidum and S. capillare in possessing paired inflorescences, but is readily distinguished by a suite of characters. It is restricted to limestone cedar glades and semi-open limestone slopes.
Sisyrinchium L. is a taxonomically difficult genus with 37 species in North America north of Mexico. Of these, only Sisyrinchium albidum Raf. and S. capillare Bicknell have paired inflorescences (Cholewa & Henderson 2002). Each of the inflorescences is subtended by two bracts or spathes, which terminate the unbranched stems. Although this combination of characters is rare in North American Sisyrinchium, a third entity shares these character states and is the subject of this paper. We propose Sisyrinchium calciphilum Sorrie for this species, which is endemic to limestone glades in northwestern Alabama.
Sorrie, B.A., W.M. Knapp, L.D. Estes, & D.D. Spaulding. 2012. A new Sisyrinchium (Iridaceae) from cedar glades in northern Alabama. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas. 6(2):323-329
http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-species/nov12/msg00012/323JBRIT62_SorrieEtAl_Sisyrinchium.pdf
Wesley Knapp 
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