Elliott's Yellow Eyed Grass

Xyris elliottii Chapm. Fl. S. U. S. 500. 1860
Xyris '■ ' :.:■. Elliott, Bot. S. C. & Ga. 1: 52. 1816. Not X. brevifolia Michx. 1803.
Perennial, tufted; leaves narrowly linear, 10-20 [—25) cm. long, 1-2 mm. broad, acute, scabrid at margins, elsewhere smooth: sheath occupying about one fifth the length of the leaf, often violaceous above, chestnut-colored or rusty and somewhat shining below, much dilated at the base; peduncles usually 40-50 cm. tall, 1-1.5 mm. broad, slightly compressed, bicostate, especially above, often scabrid on the ridges, elsewhere smooth, the peduncular sheath 7-11 cm. long, rusty or chestnut-colored and shining below; spike many-flowered, obovoid or ellipsoid, 6-10 mm. long, 3.5-5.5 mm. thick, the outer barren bracts elliptic, 2-3 mm. long, obtuse or rounded at the apex, the flowering bracts obovate, about 5 mm. long, 3-4 mm. broad, ecarinate, rounded, very lacerate and usually dull-purple at the apex, elsewhere straw-colored or tawny, with a grayish-green or dull-purple elliptic or ovate dorsal area about 2 mm. long; lateral sepals somewhat exserted, spatulate lanceolate, 5-6 mm. long, about 0.75 mm. broad, acute or nearly so: keel lacerate-fimbriate or lacerate-ciliate from the middle to the apex and often purple at the apex; seeds ellipsoid, 0.4-0.5 mm. long.
Type locality: South Carolina.
Distribution: South Carolina to Florida and Texas: western Cuba (Pinar del Rio,); Haiti; Santo Domingo: Puerto Rico: Martinique.