Flora of North America species comparison

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Xyris laxifolia

Xyris laxifolia var. iridifolia

laxleaf yelloweyed grass
Photo is of parent taxon

irisleaf yelloweyed grass
Habit Herbs, perennial, cespitose, 60–90 cm, base not bulbous.
Stems

compact.
Leaves

ascending or in narrow fans, 40–70 cm × 10–25 mm;

sheaths strongly tinged with red, soft;

blade deep shining green, broadly linear, flattened, plane, 10–25 mm wide, smooth.
Inflorescences

scape sheaths exceeded by leaves;

scapes terete, ancipital 2-edged, compressed distally to 3–4 mm wide, 1–2-ribbed distally, ribs smooth;

spikes broadly ovoid to lanceoloid or cylindric, 20–35 mm;

fertile bracts 6–7 mm, margins entire, apex rounded.
Flowers

lateral sepals included, curved, 6–7 mm, keel scarious, lacerate or lacero-ciliate;

petals unfolding in morning, blade obtriangular, 3 mm;

staminodes bearded.
Seeds

mealy, oblong-fusiform, 0.7–0.9(–1) mm.
2n

= 18.

Xyris laxifolia

Xyris laxifolia var. iridifolia
Phenology Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat Swamps, pond and lake shallows, shores, ditch banks, wet savanna, wet disturbed areas
Elevation 0–300 m (0–1000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TN; TX; VA; Mexico; Central America; South America
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TN; TX; VA; Mexico
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (1 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Xyris laxifolia is the tallest of the weedier species of Xyris, often sharing habitat with X. jupicai (with which it has often been confused taxonomically). It differs in having taller, wider foliage and scapes, in the leaf sheaths being reddened (rather than greenish or straw-colored), in the larger, longer, thicker, darker spikes, and in the longer, mealy (rather than translucent) seeds. Scape ribs in X. jupicai are papillate distally; while those of X. iridifolia are smooth.

The type variety, Xyris laxifolia Martius var. laxifolia, is a common wetland weed in large areas of Central America and South America, and it is distinguished primarily by its comparably large, acute (rather than blunt) spikes. The earliest name for the species is X. macrocephala Vahl, (Enum. Pl. 2: 204. 1805), but the type material at Copenhagen is a mix of two other species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 22. FNA vol. 22.
Parent taxa Xyridaceae > Xyris Xyridaceae > Xyris > Xyris laxifolia
Sibling taxa
X. ambigua, X. baldwiniana, X. brevifolia, X. caroliniana, X. difformis, X. drummondii, X. elliottii, X. fimbriata, X. flabelliformis, X. isoetifolia, X. jupicai, X. longisepala, X. montana, X. platylepis, X. scabrifolia, X. serotina, X. smalliana, X. stricta, X. tennesseensis, X. torta
Subordinate taxa
X. laxifolia var. iridifolia
Synonyms X. iridifolia
Name authority Martius: Flora (Akureyri) 24(2 Beibl.):53. (1841) (Chapman) Kral: Novon 9: xxx. (1999)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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