Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Xyris difformis
FAMILY
Xyridaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Xyris from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Xyris difformis var. difformis
FAMILY
Xyridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Xyris difformis var. difformis
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 035-01-014:
Xyris difformis FAMILY Xyridaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Xyris difformis
COMMON NAME:
Flatstem Yellow-eyed-grass, Bog Yellow-eyed-grass
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_xyris_difformis1
August Hoke County NC
Stems mostly 12-30" tall, flattened upward, narrowly winged, per Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011).
)
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_xyris_difformis3
August Hoke County NC
Flowers grow from a conelike head at tip of stem, opening midmorning, per Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Xyris difformis
FAMILY
Xyridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Xyris difformis var. difformis
FAMILY
Xyridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Xyris difformis var. difformis
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 035-01-014:
Xyris difformis
FAMILY
Xyridaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Xyris difformis
2720
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: pine savannas, roadside ditches, pond margins, acid seeps, bogs, other wet habitats, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain (rare elsewhere)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate (crowded and appearing basal)
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Yellow
3 sepals
3 petals
3 stamens, 3 fimbriate staminodia
Superior ovary
Inflorescence a compact, terminal, capitate spike
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p433
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p392
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p253
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".