Caldesia parnassifolia(L.) Parl.

WFO wfo-0000762635 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 3 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 3 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Caldesia parnassifolia, photographed by Robert Taylor
fig. a Robert Taylor, CC BY 4.0 / 2019-08-14 / obs. 50694167
Caldesia parnassifolia, photographed by Wilderness Safaris Botswana - Conservation Team
fig. b Wilderness Safaris Botswana - Conservation Team, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 48848437
Caldesia parnassifolia, photographed by Robert Taylor
fig. c Robert Taylor, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 28833614
Caldesia parnassifolia, photographed by Robert Taylor
fig. d Robert Taylor, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 50694211
Caldesia parnassifolia, photographed by Robert Taylor
fig. e Robert Taylor, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 50694215
Caldesia parnassifolia, photographed by Robert Taylor
fig. f Robert Taylor, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 50694221
Caldesia parnassifolia, photographed by Robert Taylor
fig. g Robert Taylor, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 50694171
Caldesia parnassifolia, photographed by Robert Taylor
fig. h Robert Taylor, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 28833622

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 56 botanical countries

Regions where Caldesia parnassifolia is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, DR Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Altay, Amur, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Inner Mongolia, Japan, Khabarovsk, Korea, Manchuria, Primorye, Transcaucasus, Assam, Bangladesh, India, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Sulawesi, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Queensland, Baltic States, Belarus, Central European Russia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Romania, Ukraine AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCongoDR CongoGuineaKenyaMadagascarMalawiNigeriaRwandaSenegalSudan-South SudanTanzaniaUgandaZambiaZimbabweAltayAmurChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastInner MongoliaJapanKhabarovskManchuriaPrimoryeTranscaucasusAssamBangladeshIndiaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanSulawesiThailandVietnamWest HimalayaQueenslandBaltic StatesBelarusCentral European RussiaFranceGermanyHungaryItalyNW. Balkan Pen.PolandRomaniaUkraine Korea
Native distribution of Caldesia parnassifolia, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Angola ANG AFRICA
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Guinea GUI
Kenya KEN
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Nigeria NGA
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Altay ALT ASIA-TEMPERATE
Amur AMU
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Inner Mongolia CHI
Japan JAP
Khabarovsk KHA
Korea KOR
Manchuria CHM
Primorye PRM
Transcaucasus TCS
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
India IND
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Pakistan PAK
Sulawesi SUL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Baltic States BLT EUROPE
Belarus BLR
Central European Russia RUC
France FRA
Germany GER
Hungary HUN
Italy ITA
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Romania ROM
Ukraine UKR
Queensland QLD AUSTRALASIA

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 23 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Alisma calyophyllum Wall.
  • Alisma dubium Willd.
  • Alisma parnassifolia Bassi ex L.
  • Alisma parnassifolium Bassi
  • Alisma parnassifolium L.
  • Alisma parnassifolium f. dubium (Willd.) Rchb.
  • Alisma parnassifolium var. baumgartenianum Schur
  • Alisma parnassifolium var. dubium (Willd.) Rouy
  • Alisma parnassifolium var. major Micheli
  • Alisma parnassifolium var. majus Micheli
  • Alisma parnassifolium var. mayus Micheli
  • Alisma parnassifolium var. terrestris Asch. & Graebn.
  • Alisma reniforme D.Don
  • Caldesia parnassifolia subsp. euparnassifolia Asch. & Graebn.
  • Caldesia parnassifolia var. dubia Asch. & Graebn.
  • Caldesia parnassifolia var. major (Micheli) Buchenau
  • Caldesia parnassifolia var. minor Bouché
  • Caldesia parnassifolia var. nilotica Bouché
  • Caldesia parnassifolia var. terrestris Asch. & Graebn.
  • Caldesia reniformis Makino
  • Caldesia reniformis f. natans H.Hara
  • Damasonium parnassifolium (Bassi) Chaz.
  • Echinodorus parnassifolius (L.) Engelm.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.