Xyridaceae

The Xyridaceae are a family of subtropical and tropical plants. They grow in swampy environments in North and South America, Asia, South Africa and Australia. They are rushlike perennial plants (sometimes annual). The leaves are mostly distichous, linear, flat and thin or round with a conspicuous sheath at the base. They are arranged in a basal aggregation.

The flowers are dioecious with inflorescences of spherical or cylindrical spikes or heads. Each flower grows in the axil of a large, leathery bract.

The fruit is a non-fleshy, dehiscent capsule.

There are about 270 species in 5 genera.