Plants native to Cocos (Keeling) Is.

We document 63 of the 73 species Kew’s World Checklist records as native to Cocos (Keeling) Is.. Native means native: introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where these plants are from, not everywhere they now grow.

Documented 63 Native, per Kew 73 Coverage 86% TDWG CKI

Best documented by photographic coverage

Every documented species 63 native to Cocos (Keeling) Is.

SpeciesAuthorityFamily Photographs
Achyranthes aspera L. Amaranthaceae 8
Apluda mutica L. Poaceae 8
Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh. Acanthaceae 8
Barringtonia asiatica Kurz Lecythidaceae 8
Boerhavia diffusa L. Nyctaginaceae 8
Boerhavia repens L. Nyctaginaceae 8
Calophyllum inophyllum L. Calophyllaceae 8
Canavalia cathartica Thouars Fabaceae 8
Carex filicina Nees Cyperaceae 8
Cassytha filiformis L. Lauraceae 8
Cleome gynandra L. Cleomaceae 8
Cordia subcordata Lam. Cordiaceae 8
Crinum asiaticum L. Amaryllidaceae 8
Cyperus brevifolius (Rottb.) Hassk. Cyperaceae 8
Cyperus hyalinus Vahl Cyperaceae 8
Cyperus javanicus Houtt. Cyperaceae 8
Cyperus odoratus L. Cyperaceae 8
Cyperus polystachyos Rottb. Cyperaceae 8
Digitaria setigera Roth Poaceae 8
Dodonaea viscosa Jacq. Sapindaceae 8
Eleocharis geniculata (L.) Roem. & Schult. Cyperaceae 8
Eragrostis tenella (L.) P.Beauv. ex Roem. & Schult. Poaceae 8
Erythrina variegata L. Fabaceae 8
Ficus microcarpa L.f. Moraceae 8
Fimbristylis cymosa R.Br. Cyperaceae 8
Guettarda speciosa L. Rubiaceae 8
Guilandina bonduc L. Fabaceae 8
Heliotropium arboreum (Blanco) Mabb. Heliotropiaceae 8
Hernandia nymphaeifolia (C.Presl) Kubitzki Hernandiaceae 8
Hibiscus tiliaceus L. Malvaceae 8
Indigofera hirsuta L. Fabaceae 8
Ipomoea pes-caprae (L.) R.Br. Convolvulaceae 8
Ipomoea violacea L. Convolvulaceae 8
Ischaemum muticum L. Poaceae 8
Laportea aestuans (L.) Chew Urticaceae 8
Lemna aequinoctialis Welw. Araceae 8
Lepturus repens (G.Forst.) R.Br. Poaceae 8
Morinda citrifolia L. Rubiaceae 8
Pandanus tectorius Parkinson ex Du Roi Pandanaceae 8
Panicum repens L. Poaceae 8
Pemphis acidula J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. Lythraceae 8
Pisonia grandis R.Br. Nyctaginaceae 8
Premna serratifolia L. Lamiaceae 8
Rhizophora apiculata Blume Rhizophoraceae 8
Scaevola taccada (Gaertn.) Roxb. Goodeniaceae 8
Sesuvium portulacastrum (L.) L. Aizoaceae 8
Sida acuta Burm.f. Malvaceae 8
Spirodela polyrhiza (L.) Schleid. Araceae 8
Sporobolus fertilis (Steud.) Clayton Poaceae 8
Striga angustifolia (D.Don) C.J.Saldanha Orobanchaceae 8
Suriana maritima L. Surianaceae 8
Terminalia catappa L. Combretaceae 8
Thespesia populnea Sol. ex Corrêa Malvaceae 8
Thuarea involuta (G.Forst.) R.Br. ex Sm. Poaceae 8
Triphasia trifolia (Burm.f.) P.Wilson Rutaceae 8
Vigna marina (Burm.) Merr. Fabaceae 8
Wollastonia biflora DC. Asteraceae 8
Ximenia americana L. Olacaceae 8
Zoysia matrella (L.) Merr. Poaceae 8
Thalassodendron ciliatum (Forssk.) Hartog Cymodoceaceae 7
Enicostema axillare (Poir. ex Lam.) A.Raynal Gentianaceae 6
Ochrosia oppositifolia K.Schum. Apocynaceae 6
Boerhavia albiflora Fosberg Nyctaginaceae 4

What this page does not tell you

Kew records 10 more species as native to Cocos (Keeling) Is. that we do not document. They are real, accepted plants. They have no page here because we could not find three photographs of them licensed for commercial use, and this site publishes no species it cannot show you. That gap is the honest measure of what we are missing, and it is why we print both numbers rather than the flattering one.

This is a checklist of what is native, not a guide to what will grow in your garden, and it carries no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not have those from a source we can cite.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). Native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country (CKI). Introduced, extinct and doubtful records excluded. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  2. World Flora Online Plant List. Accepted names, authorities, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  3. iNaturalist. Photographs, restricted to CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA. Retrieved 2026-06-27.