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Xyris caroliniana Walter
Carolina Yelloweyed Grass
Florida native
A common plant of flatwoods, sandhills and scrub throughout almost all of Florida. The range includes the southeastern and mid-Atlantic coastal states from Texas to New Jersey, plus Puerto Rico.
The three-petaled white flowers appear on a conelike head at the end of a smooth twisted scape to 71 mm (28 in) tall. Of the three sepals, two are keel-shaped and one is membranous. Three fertile stamens alternate with three brush-like staminoides.
Carolina yellow-eyed grass has narrow (up to 4mm wide) leaves that are shorter than the scape , usually 20-60 cm (-24 in.) long.
While this species always has white flowers, Xyris platylepis may have flowers with either white or yellow petals.
Xyris caroliniana is a member of the Xyridaceae - Yellow-eyed Grass family.
Other species of the Xyris genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Xyris elliottii - ELLIOTT'S YELLOWEYED GRASS
Xyris jupicai - RICHARD'S YELLOW-EYED GRASS
Xyris laxifolia var. iridifolia - IRISLEAF YELLOWEYED GRASS
Xyris platylepis - TALL YELLOWEYED GRASS
Xyris stenotera - NARROWLEAF YELLOW-EYED GRASS
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
iNaturalist profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Sep 22, 2024
