Centella asiatica(L.) Urb.

Asiatic pennywortCentellaspadeleaf

WFO wfo-0000594096 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Centella asiatica, photographed by Greg Tasney
fig. a Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2022-06-13 / obs. 205976369

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 104 botanical countries

Regions where Centella asiatica is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cabinda, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Caprivi Strip, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Free State, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Réunion, Rodrigues, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Iran, Japan, Korea, Nansei-shoto, Ogasawara-shoto, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Transcaucasus, Yemen, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Pakistan, Philippines, Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Caroline Is., Fiji, Marianas, Marshall Is., New Caledonia, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Wallis-Futuna Is. AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCabindaCameroonCape ProvincesCaprivi StripCentral African RepublicChadCongoDR CongoEquatorial GuineaEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLesothoLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastIranJapanSaudi ArabiaTaiwanTranscaucasusYemenAssamBangladeshBismarck ArchipelagoBorneoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNew South WalesNorthern TerritoryQueenslandFijiNew Caledonia Cape VerdeComorosMauritiusRéunionRodriguesKoreaNansei-shotoAndaman Is.Nicobar Is.Caroline Is.MarianasMarshall Is.SamoaTongaVanuatuWallis-Futuna Is.
Native distribution of Centella asiatica, 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
Cabinda CAB
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Cape Verde CVI
Caprivi Strip CPV
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Comoros COM
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Equatorial Guinea EQG
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Lesotho LES
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Réunion REU
Rodrigues ROD
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Socotra SOC
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Bismarck Archipelago BIS
Borneo BOR
Cambodia CBD
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Nicobar Is. NCB
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
China North-Central CHN ASIA-TEMPERATE
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Iran IRN
Japan JAP
Korea KOR
Nansei-shoto NNS
Ogasawara-shoto OGA
Saudi Arabia SAU
Taiwan TAI
Transcaucasus TCS
Yemen YEM
Caroline Is. CRL PACIFIC
Fiji FIJ
Marianas MRN
Marshall Is. MRS
New Caledonia NWC
Samoa SAM
Tonga TON
Vanuatu VAN
Wallis-Futuna Is. WAL
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
Northern Territory NTA
Queensland QLD

Not drawn on the map: Socotra, Ogasawara-shoto. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are listed rather than guessed at.

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.

Flowering 45 in flower of 291 examined

Proportion of examined Centella asiatica in flower, by month
Month In flower Examined Share 95% interval
Jan 5 31 16% 7% to 33%
Feb 8 20 40% 22% to 61%
Mar 9 29 31% 17% to 49%
Apr 9 41 22% 12% to 37%
May 3 21 14% 5% to 35%
Jun 5 30 17% 7% to 34%
Jul 2 21 10% 3% to 29%
Aug 0 25 0% 0% to 13%
Sep 0 18 0% 0% to 18%
Oct 1 17 6% 1% to 27%
Nov 1 23 4% 1% to 21%
Dec 2 15 13% 4% to 38%

Peak flowering in Feb. Each bar is the share of Centella asiatica observations in which someone actually recorded the reproductive state and found the plant in flower, not the raw number of flowering records. That distinction matters: people observe plants far more in spring than in winter, so a bare count of flowering records partly measures when people go outside. Dividing by the number examined removes that. 45 of 291 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. This is still a global aggregate and not a forecast for your garden: the same species flowers on different dates in different hemispheres. Where a species has fewer than 30 flowering records we do not draw this chart at all. Computed from 10.15468/dl.cgje2x.

Also published as 40 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.

  • Centella asiatica var. asiatica
  • Centella asiatica var. boninensis (Nakai ex Tuyama) H.Hara
  • Centella asiatica var. crispata (Maxim.) Y.Yabe
  • Centella asiatica var. crispata (Maxim.) H.Hara
  • Centella asiatica var. crista Makino
  • Centella asiatica var. cristata Makino
  • Centella boninensis Nakai ex Tuyama
  • Centella hirtella Nannf.
  • Centella ulugurensis (Engl.) Domin
  • Chondrocarpus asiaticus Nutt.
  • Chondrocarpus triflorus Nutt.
  • Glyceria asiatica Nutt.
  • Glyceria triflora Nutt.
  • Hydrocotyle abyssinica Gand.
  • Hydrocotyle artensis Montrouz.
  • Hydrocotyle asiatica L.
  • Hydrocotyle asiatica var. crispata Maxim.
  • Hydrocotyle asiatica var. monantha F.Muell.
  • Hydrocotyle brasiliensis Scheidw.
  • Hydrocotyle brevipedata St.-Lag.
  • Hydrocotyle brevipes DC.
  • Hydrocotyle dentata A.Rich.
  • Hydrocotyle ficarifolia Stokes
  • Hydrocotyle ficarioides Lam.

and 16 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. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. 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.