YELLOW-EYED GRASS FAMILY 33 



heads are quickly recognized, even after the flowering 

 season has passed, but correct identification of the many 

 species is not always easy. Of the more readily identified, 

 the small Z. brevifolia and Z. flahelUformis begin to bloom 

 in winter. A little later the larger Z. ambigua, Z. Elliot- 

 tii, and others bloom, and in summer and autumn the 

 coarse growth of Z. platylepis and other species is notice- 

 able. 



Z. Elliottii grows in tufts of dark, narrow, shining 

 leaves, which are more or less twisted, though less so than 

 the fewer and broader leaves of our only white-flowered 

 species, Z. pallescens. 



The fragile petals of these hard-heads, as they are locally 

 called, are only about one-fourth of an inch long, and 

 seem to escape with difficulty from the grasp of the em- 

 bracing scales, which serve to protect the unopened flower 

 and the ripening seeds. Although the flowers are small, 

 and few open at one time in a spike, yet the plants often 

 grow in such profusion that low grounds are yellow with 

 them. 



Xyris platylepis. Spike about 1 in. long. Stalk 1-3 ft. 

 tall. Petals 3, yellow, sepals 3, stamens 3. Leaves basal, 

 grasslike, 8-24 in. long. Low grounds. Blooming in sum- 

 mer and fall. Fla. to S. C. and Texas. 



Xyris Elliottii. Spike smaller than above. Stalk 10-20 in. 

 tall. Leaves many, narrow, twisted, 3-9 in. long. Fla. to 

 S. C. and Ala. 



Xyris pallescens. Flowers white. Spike about ^/^ in. long. 

 Stalk 1-2 ft. tall, 2-edged above, spirally twisted. Blooming 

 in winter and spring. Fla. and Ga. 



Xyris brevifolia. Flowers yellow^ Spike very small. 

 Stalks 4-12 in. tall. Leaves very narrow, 1-3 in. long. Low 

 pinelands. Blooming in winter and spring. Fla. to N. C. 



Xyris flabelliformis. Similar to Z. hrevifolia, but leaves 

 are shorter, slightly broader, and spread in one plane, like 

 a fan. Fla. to Miss. 



