Fringed Yellow-eyed-grass
Xyris fimbriata
Found in depression ponds and limesinks; sandhills; streams, rivers and their banks; seeps and springs; ponds, lakes and their shores. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 5 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 to October
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 4 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Streams, rivers and their banks



Depression ponds and limesinks
Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.
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 Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 106 animals.
- American AvocetRecurvirostra americana
- American BitternBotaurus lentiginosus
- American Black DuckAnas rubripes
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- American WigeonAnas americana
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black RailLaterallus jamaicensis
- Black SkimmerRynchops niger
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-bellied PloverPluvialis squatarola
- Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticorax
- Black-necked StiltHimantopus mexicanus
- Blue-winged TealAnas discors
- Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphia
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- CanvasbackAythya valisineria
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
Who uses this plant?
1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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
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
- Yellow or brown
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “September to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow or brown” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 5 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
Fringed Yellow Eyed Grass
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA 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
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central 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

























