Canscora diffusa(Vahl) R.Br. ex Roem. & Schult.

WFO wfo-0000584031 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Canscora diffusa, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. a Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2021-11-18 / obs. 169951980
Canscora diffusa, photographed by S.MORE
fig. b S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 166386374
Canscora diffusa, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. c Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 161431280
Canscora diffusa, photographed by S.MORE
fig. d S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 105603671
Canscora diffusa, photographed by S.MORE
fig. e S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 63408266
Canscora diffusa, photographed by S.MORE
fig. f S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 61428070
Canscora diffusa, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. g Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 129573666
Canscora diffusa, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. h Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 119617784

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Native range 46 botanical countries

Regions where Canscora diffusa is native: Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China South-Central, China Southeast, Taiwan, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, New Caledonia BeninBurkinaCameroonCentral African RepublicChadCongoDR CongoEthiopiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauIvory CoastLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMaliMozambiqueNigeriaSenegalSierra LeoneSudan-South SudanTanzaniaZambiaZimbabweChina South-CentralChina SoutheastTaiwanAssamBangladeshEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MyanmarNepalPhilippinesSri LankaThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNorthern TerritoryQueenslandWestern AustraliaNew Caledonia Andaman Is.
Native distribution of Canscora diffusa, 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
Benin BEN AFRICA
Burkina BKN
Cameroon CMN
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Ethiopia ETH
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Ivory Coast IVO
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mozambique MOZ
Nigeria NGA
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Taiwan TAI
Northern Territory NTA AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD
Western Australia WAU
New Caledonia NWC PACIFIC

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 25 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.

  • Canscora decurrens Dalzell
  • Canscora diffusa var. tenella C.B.Clarke
  • Canscora divaricata Miq. ex C.B.Clarke
  • Canscora foliosa D.Don
  • Canscora khandalensis Santapau
  • Canscora kirkii N.E.Br.
  • Canscora lancifolia Miq. ex C.B.Clarke
  • Canscora lauri C.B.Clarke
  • Canscora lawii Wight
  • Canscora pusilla Schult. & Schult.f.
  • Canscora rubiflora X.X.Chen
  • Canscora sanjappae Diwakar & R.Kr.Singh
  • Canscora tenella Wall. ex Wight
  • Canscora tenella Wall.
  • Cobamba dichotoma Blanco
  • Exacum diffusum (Vahl) Willd.
  • Exacum erectum (R.Br.) Roth
  • Exacum tenellum Wall.
  • Gentiana diffusa Vahl
  • Orthostemon erectus R.Br.
  • Orthostemon huegelii Griseb.
  • Orthostemon kirkii N.E.Br.
  • Pladera pusilla Roxb.
  • Pladera virgata Roxb.

and 1 more.

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.