Xyris elliottii
Xyris difformis
Elliott's yelloweyed grass
bog yellow-eyed-grass, southern yelloweyed grass
compact.
compact.
in narrow fans to erect, 10–30(–40) cm;
sheath base tan to brown, firm;
blade mostly green or tinged with maroon, narrowly linear, flattened, plane or slightly twisted, 1–2(–2.5) mm wide, smooth, margins pale, narrow, incrassate, smooth or papillate.
in narrow to broad fans, 5–50 cm;
sheaths soft, base reddish;
blade deep green, linear to linear—sword-shaped, flat, not twisted, under 7 mm wide, papillate or smooth, margins smooth or papillate, somewhat scabrous.
scape sheaths exceeded by leaves;
scapes linear, nearly terete, 0.7–1 mm wide, apically 2-ribbed, ribs smooth or papillate;
spikes mostly ovoid or ellipsoid, 6–15 mm, apex acute;
fertile bracts 5–6 mm, margins pale, strongly scarious, lacerate, often squarrose, submarginally often reddish, apex low-keeled.
scape sheaths exceeded by leaves;
scapes linear to filiform, terete proximally, terete or ancipital-2-edged–winged distally, 0.5–3 mm wide, variably ribbed, distally with 3 or more somewhat scabrous ribs, ribs papillate to scabrous;
spikes prevalently ovoid, 5–20 mm, apex usually acute;
fertile bracts (4–)5–7(–9) mm, margins entire, apex rounded.
lateral sepals included or slightly exsert, slightly curved, (5.5–)6–7 mm, keel concolorous, firm, finely lacerate or apically lacero-fimbriate, not papillate or ciliate;
petals unfolding in morning, blade obovate, 5 mm;
staminodes bearded.
lateral sepals included, slightly curved, 5–7 mm, keel brown, scarious, lacerate;
petals unfolding in morning, blade obtriangular, 4 mm;
staminodes bearded.
translucent, ellipsoid, 0.5–0.6 mm, prominently longitudinally lined.
translucent to mealy, ovoid to ellipsoid, 0.5 mm, finely lined longitudinally with small papillae.
= 189.
Xyris elliottii
Xyris difformis
Xyris elliottii with its densely cespitose habit, its glossy brown or red-brown, chaffy leaf sheath bases, and narrow leaves is a part of a complex including Xyris baldwiniana and X. isoetifolia. Usually it is readily distinguished by its taller habit, thicker scapes, and larger spikes, but particularly by its strongly contrasting pale, incrassate leaf blade borders. In peninsular Florida, however, this leaf border is not consistently present, particularly in the narrower-bladed populations (in these, leaf blades may be less than 1 mm wide). Such plants can be distinguished from X. baldwiniana by the staminodial brush, absent in X. baldwiniana, and from X. isoetifolia by the different spike shape, the ragged (rather than entire) bracts, and by a different seed sculpture. Hybrids between X. elliottii and X. brevifolia occur in southern Florida.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaves and scapes (except for edges and ribs) smooth; scapes somewhat to much widened distally; 2 ribs comparably wider, making wings, smooth or papillate; seeds translucent | var. difformis |
1. Leaves and scapes variously papillate or minutely scabrous; scapes not much widened distally; ribs all equally prominent, somewhat scabrous; seeds translucent or mealy. | → 2 |
2. Seeds translucent; leaves spreading-ascending in broad fans, rarely as long as 10 cm, linear–sword-shaped; spikes rarely longer than 5 mm. | var. curtissii |
2. Seeds mealy; leaves ascending in broad to narrow fans, rarely shorter than (10–)15 cm, linear; spikes 6–10(–15) mm | var. floridana |
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