Harper's Yellow-eyed-grass
Xyris scabrifolia
Found in sandhill seepage bogs and wet pine savannas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Wet to standing water

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- June to July
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves
Height: NC species account not read yet.
Spread and leaves: no source found yet.
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 14 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.
Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.
Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 151 animals.
- Savannah SparrowPasserculus sandwichensis
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- SoraPorzana carolina
- Stilt SandpiperCalidris himantopus
- Swamp SparrowMelospiza georgiana
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- Virginia RailRallus limicola
- White IbisEudocimus albus
- Whooping CraneGrus americana
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- Wood StorkMycteria americana
- Yellow RailCoturnicops noveboracensis
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- American BitternBotaurus lentiginosus
- American RedstartSetophaga ruticilla
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Black RailLaterallus jamaicensis
- CanvasbackAythya valisineria
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
Who uses this plant?
2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Xyris
- Megisto cymelaLittle Wood Satyr
- Coleophora xyridella
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
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Xyris
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. 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
Plant details
- Family
- Xyridaceae
- Flower color
- White or yellow
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White or yellow” · 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
- Soil · “Water; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Harper's Yellow eyed grass
Conservation status
| Florida rank | S3S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G3 |
| FL 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 Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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

























