Xyris laxifoliaMart.

laxleaf yelloweyed grass

WFO wfo-0000611917 Accepted WFO 2026-06 4 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–d · 2 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 2 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Xyris laxifolia, photographed by Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋）
fig. a Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋）, CC BY 4.0 / 2020-07-28 / obs. 87370325
Xyris laxifolia, photographed by Sam Kieschnick
fig. b Sam Kieschnick, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 55711660
Xyris laxifolia, photographed by Sam Kieschnick
fig. c Sam Kieschnick, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 55711729
Xyris laxifolia, photographed by Sam Kieschnick
fig. d Sam Kieschnick, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 55711796

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 32 botanical countries

Regions where Xyris laxifolia is native: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mexico Southeast, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Argentina Northeast, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela AlabamaArkansasFloridaGeorgiaLouisianaMexico SoutheastMississippiNorth CarolinaSouth CarolinaTennesseeTexasVirginiaArgentina NortheastBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaEcuadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasPanamáParaguayPeruSurinameUruguayVenezuela
Native distribution of Xyris laxifolia, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Ecuador ECU
French Guiana FRG
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Honduras HON
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Suriname SUR
Uruguay URU
Venezuela VEN
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Arkansas ARK
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Louisiana LOU
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mississippi MSI
North Carolina NCA
South Carolina SCA
Tennessee TEN
Texas TEX
Virginia VRG

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 9 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Xyris caroliniana var. major (Mart.) Idrobo & L.B.Sm.
  • Xyris conifera Chapm. ex Ries
  • Xyris indica Vell.
  • Xyris iridifolia Chapm.
  • Xyris jupicai var. major (Mart.) L.B.Sm. & Downs
  • Xyris laxifolia var. major Mart.
  • Xyris laxifolia var. procera Seub.
  • Xyris macrocephala var. major (Mart.) L.A.Nilsson
  • Xyris rigida Chapm. ex Ries

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.