Coastal-plain Yellow-eyed-grass
Xyris ambigua
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in wet pine savannas and flatwoods, pinelands, edges of depression ponds. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 3 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Wet to standing water
Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to August
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 4 Arkansas counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 18 animals.
- American Black DuckAnas rubripes
- AnhingaAnhinga anhinga
- Black-bellied Whistling-DuckDendrocygna autumnalis
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- Great EgretArdea alba
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- Horned GrebePodiceps auritus
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutilla
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- Neotropic CormorantPhalacrocorax brasilianus
- Northern ShovelerAnas clypeata
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- RedheadAythya americana
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- White IbisEudocimus albus
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
Widespread birds also seen here (53)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Black-and-White Warbler
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Brown Creeper
- Canada Goose
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Cliff Swallow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Wood-pewee
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Gray Catbird
- Great Horned Owl
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Hermit Thrush
- Lincoln's Sparrow
- Mallard
- Mississippi Kite
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Osprey
- Purple Finch
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Rusty Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Song Sparrow
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tree Swallow
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-throated Sparrow
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-crowned Night-heron
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Xyris
- Megisto cymelaLittle Wood Satyr
13BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Xyris
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded eating Xyris in Arkansas
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Arkansas, most records first.
- Wild TurkeySeeds. 5 diet records
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Birds that eat Xyris 1
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
Plant details
- Family
- Xyridaceae
- Flower color
- Yellow
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 3 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Coastal Plain Yellow Eyed Grass
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | S2S3 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications