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Harper's Yellow-eyed-grass

Xyris scabrifolia

Found in sandhill seepage bogs and wet pine savannas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

36
Good

Native to Mississippi. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 82%

Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Wet to standing water
Will it fit your yard?

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 9 Mississippi counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Mississippi. Shared habitat, not food. 121 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (33)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of Mississippi

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS

Genus host records with ranges including MS · Xyris

  • Megisto cymelaLittle Wood Satyr
  • Coleophora xyridella
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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 Mississippi

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Mississippi, most records first.

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab)

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.

Growing and identification

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
Also known as

Harper's Yellow eyed grass

Conservation status

Mississippi rankS3
Global rankG3
MS statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

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How to check your spot

Sources