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 Louisiana (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 3 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Wet to standing water
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- May to August
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 18 Louisiana parishes.
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.
Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Louisiana. Shared habitat, not food. 59 animals.
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- Great-tailed GrackleQuiscalus mexicanus
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Henslow's SparrowAmmodramus henslowii
- Horned GrebePodiceps auritus
- Least SandpiperCalidris minutilla
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Long-billed DowitcherLimnodromus scolopaceus
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- Neotropic CormorantPhalacrocorax brasilianus
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- Northern ShovelerAnas clypeata
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- Pine WarblerDendroica pinus
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Red-cockaded WoodpeckerPicoides borealis
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
Widespread birds also seen here (34)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Canada Goose
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Eastern Kingbird
- European Starling
- Great Egret
- Great Horned Owl
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Osprey
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Tree Swallow
- Turkey Vulture
- White-throated Sparrow
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-crowned Night-heron
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including LA
Genus host records with ranges including LA · 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
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded eating Xyris in Louisiana
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Louisiana, 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
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
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
| Louisiana rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| LA 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
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Louisiana 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