Bog Yelloweyed Grass

Xyris elata Chapm. Fl. S. U. S. 501. 1860
Tufted; leaves linear, 20-40 (-60) cm. long, 2-5 mm. broad, somewhat obtuse at the apex, smooth; sheath occupying about one third the length of the leaf, straw-colored or violaceous, opaque, somewhat dilated at the base; peduncles 40-80 (-100) cm. tall, 1.5-2 mm. broad, nearly terete, bicostate above, smooth, the peduncular sheath 15-25 cm. long, tawny or rusty and somewhat shining below; spike many-flowered, ellipsoid or oblong-ovoid, 12-20 (-23) mm. long, 6-8 mm. thick, somewhat acute at the apex, the outer barren bracts ovate-elliptic, 2-3 mm. long, nearly rounded at the apex, the flowering bracts obovate or elliptic, 6-7 mm. long, about 4 mm. broad, rather entire, tawny or rusty, somewhat shining, with a grayish-green elliptic or nearly orbicular dorsal area about 2 mm. long; lateral sepals narrowly lanceolate or spatulate-linear, 4.5-6 mm. long, about 0.7 mm. broad, obtuse at the apex or nearly so; keel narrow and entire below, somewhat broader and lacerate-dentate above; seeds ellipsoid, about 0.4 mm. long.
Type locality: Sandy swamps near the coast, western Florida.
Distribution: Virginia to Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma.