Acid-swamp Yellow-eyed-grass
Xyris serotina
Found in depression meadows, ultisol savannas (Lynchburg/Rains complex or Eulonia/Oketee), ditches. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Mississippi. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 2 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, 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
- September
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 4 Mississippi counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.
Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Mississippi. Shared habitat, not food. 68 animals.
- Northern ShovelerAnas clypeata
- Painted BuntingPasserina ciris
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- Prairie WarblerDendroica discolor
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Purple GallinulePorphyrio martinica
- Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Rusty BlackbirdEuphagus carolinus
- Sandhill CraneGrus canadensis
- Savannah SparrowPasserculus sandwichensis
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- Swainson's WarblerLimnothlypis swainsonii
- Swamp SparrowMelospiza georgiana
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- White IbisEudocimus albus
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
- Wood StorkMycteria americana
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
Widespread birds also seen here (43)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Carolina Chickadee
- Carolina Wren
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Grackle
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eastern Towhee
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Fish Crow
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Horned Owl
- Hooded Merganser
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Osprey
- Purple Finch
- Red-shouldered Hawk
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Swallow-tailed Kite
- Tufted Titmouse
- 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 MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · 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 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.
- 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
- White, yellow or brown
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “September” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “White, yellow or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 2 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; 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
Acid swamp Yellow eyed grass
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G3G4 |
| MS 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
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Mississippi 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






















