Xyris elliottii

Xyris elliottii
Photo by Shirley Denton (Copyrighted, use by photographer’s permission only), Nature Photography by Shirley Denton
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class:	Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Order:	Commelinales
Family:	Xyridaceae
Genus:	Xyris
Species:	X. elliottii
Binomial name
Xyris elliottii Chapm.
Natural range of Xyris elliottii from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common name: Elliott's yelloweyed grass

Description

A description of Xyris elliottii is provided in The Flora of North America.

Ecology

Habitat

Xyris elliotti can occur in floating islands of depression swamps, lake shores, wet pine flatwoods, pine-palmetto flats, dune swales, flatwoods bogs, moist pine barrens, Hypericum marshes, cypress domes, sinkhole lake shores, dune hollows, grass-sedge bogs, cypress-gum swamps, hardwood hammocks, and seepage slopes. It has occurred in disturbed areas such as roadside depressions, drying borrow pit ponds, bulldozed flatwoods, and powerline corridors (FSU Herbarium). Soils types include peaty soil, loamy sand, peaty sand, Mandarin (Typic Haplhumods), Clarendon (Plinthaquic Paleudults), and Pineda and Riviera (Arenic Glossaqualfs) (FSU Herbarium).

Associated species include Decodon, Drosera, Polygala, Spartina patens, Centella asiatica, Lycopodium, Syngonanthus flavidulus, Panicum hemitomon, Scleria reticularis, Rhynchospora, Andropogon, Juncus, Amphicarpum muhlenbergianum, Lycopodium appressum, Lachnocaulon engleri, Syngonanthus flavidulus, Sarracenia flava, Polygala, Rhexia, Rhynchospora, Platanthera nivea, Panicum erectifolia, Aster eryngifolius, Rhexia lutea, Polygala chapmanii, Xyris drummondii, X. fimbriata, Scleria reticularis and Panicum tenerum (FSU Herbarium).

Phenology

Flowers and fruits April through September (FSU Herbarium).

Pollination

The following Hymenoptera families and species were observed visiting flowers of Xyris elliottii at Archbold Biological Station (Deyrup 2015):

Apidae: Apis mellifera, Bombus impatiens

Colletidae: Colletes distinctus

Halictidae: Augochloropsis sumptuosa, Lasioglossum coreopsis, L. nymphalis

Megachilidae: Megachile brevis pseudobrevis

Photo Gallery

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  Flowers of Xyris elliottii

  Photo by Shirley Denton (Copyrighted, use by photographer’s permission only), Nature Photography by Shirley Denton

References and notes

Deyrup, M.A. and N.D. 2015. Database of observations of Hymenoptera visitations to flowers of plants on Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA.

Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: November 2015. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, W.W. Baker, Edwin L. Bridges, Paul M. Cassen, A.H. Curtiss, Angus Gholson Jr., Robert K. Godfrey, Ann F. Johnson, Ed Keppner, Lisa Keppner, Mabel Kral, Robert Kral, O. Lakela, S.W. Leonard, William Lindsey, K. MacClendon, T. MacClendon, Sidney McDaniel, Gil Nelson, Steve Orzell, P.L. Redfearn Jr. , Grady W. Reinert, Jean W. Wooten. States and Counties: Florida: Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Escambia, Franklin, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hernando, Hillsborough, Indian River, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Marion, Martin, Okaloosa, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, St. Lucie, St. Johns, Sumter, Taylor, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, Washington. Countries: Belize.Compiled by Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy.