• You are here:
• Full Key
• Orchids and related plants
• Irises, lilies, and other "monocots"
• Xyris torta

Xyris torta — slender yellow-eyed-grass

Facts

Slender yellow-eyed-grass is common on peaty and sandy pond and lake shores and in bogs. This species has a patchy distribution in the eastern half of the United States, and it is absent from Maine and Vermont.

Habitat

Bogs, fens (calcium-rich wetlands), shores of rivers or lakes

Characteristics

• Clonal plantlets

  Axillary bulblets

  there are no bulblets being produced in axils

• Flowers

  Anther attachment

  the anther is attached by its base to the filament

  Bulblets replace flowers

  there are no bulblets where the flowers are located

  Carpels fused

  the carpels are fused (the number of carpels equals the number of locules)

  Flower petal color

  • pink to red
  • white
  • yellow

  Flower petal length

  4 mm

  Flower symmetry

  • there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
  • there is only one way to evenly divide the flower (the flower is bilaterally symmetrical)

  Form of style

  the style is branched above the base

  Fringed petal edges

  the petals are not fringed

  Hairs on flower stalk

  NA

  Inflorescence length

  8–25 mm

  Inflorescence type

  the inflorescence is a spike (a long unbranched stem with flowers along it that lack stalks)

  Marks on petals

  there are no noticeable marks on the petals

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of pistils

  1

  Number of styles

  1

  Ovary position

  the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal appearance

  the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

  Petal fusion

  • the perianth parts are fused to form a tube, cup, or bell shape
  • the perianth parts are separate

  Sepal appearance

  the sepals resemble leaves in color and texture

  Sepal length

  4.5–5.5 mm

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are separate from one another

  Spathe

  the plant does not have a spathe

  Spathe form

  NA

  Stamen number

  3

  Stamen position relative to petals

  the stamens are lined up with the sepals

  Stamens fused outwards

  the stamens are fused to the petals or tepals at or near their bases

  Style petal-like

  the style is not broad and flattened like a petal

  Tepals

  the petals and sepals are different in size and color

• Fruits or seeds

  Berry color

  NA

  Capsule ridges

  there are no ribs or wings on the capsule

  Fruit compartments

  there is only one locule in the fruit

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe

  Fruit type (specific)

  the fruit is a capsule (splits along two or more seams, apical teeth or pores when dry, to release two or more seeds)

  Other markings on berry

  NA

• Glands or sap

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Underground organs

  the plant has one or more swollen storage organs underground, such as bulbs, tubers or corms

• Leaves

  Leaf arrangement

  alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Leaf blade basal lobes

  the leaf blades do not have basal lobes

  Leaf blade base

  the leaf has no stalk

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow

  Leaf blade cross-section

  the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section

  Leaf blade faces

  the surfaces of the leaf blade are composed of tissues from the abaxial side only

  Leaf blade form

  Fully-formed (i.e., expanded), +/- green leaf blades are found somewhere on the plant

  Leaf blade length

  200–500 mm

  Leaf blade orientation

  the edge of the leaf blade faces the stem of the plant

  Leaf blade shape

  the leaf blade is linear (very narrow with more or less parallel sides)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color

  Leaf blade veins

  the lateral veins are parallel or slightly arched in the direction of the tip

  Leaf blade width

  2–5 mm

  Leaf type

  the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  Stipule twining

  NA

  Stipules

  there are no stipules on this plant

• Place

  Habitat

  wetlands

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island

  Specific habitat

  • bogs
  • fens (calcium-rich wetlands)
  • shores of rivers or lakes

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the leaves have no particular smell

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem leaves

  there are no true leaves on the flowering stem

Wetland status

Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae