Cyathula prostrata(L.) Blume

pastureweed

WFO wfo-0000631218 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Cyathula prostrata, photographed by Licheng Shih
fig. a Licheng Shih, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-01-07 / obs. 175788315

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 74 botanical countries

Regions where Cyathula prostrata is native: Angola, Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Taiwan, Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Philippines, Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, Queensland, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Venezuela AngolaBeninBurkinaCameroonCentral African RepublicCongoDR CongoEthiopiaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastLiberiaMalawiMaliMozambiqueNigeriaSenegalSierra LeoneSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanTaiwanAssamBangladeshBorneoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamQueenslandFijiBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaEcuadorEl SalvadorHondurasNicaraguaPanamáPeruVenezuela ComorosNicobar Is.SamoaTongaVanuatu
Native distribution of Cyathula prostrata, 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
Burkina BKN
Cameroon CMN
Central African Republic CAF
Comoros COM
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Liberia LBR
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mozambique MOZ
Nigeria NGA
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
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
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
Brazil North BZN SOUTHERN AMERICA
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
Honduras HON
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Peru PER
Venezuela VEN
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Taiwan TAI
Fiji FIJ PACIFIC
Samoa SAM
Tonga TON
Vanuatu VAN
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.

Where it actually grows measured, from 394 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low 10.4 °C 19.7 °C 24.2 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 25.9 °C 29.1 °C 33.2 °C
Annual rainfall 1,768 mm 2,748 mm 4,723 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 37 mm 184 mm 671 mm

It is not found anywhere that gets close to freezing. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 394 research-grade observations of Cyathula prostrata that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 21 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.

  • Achyranthes alternifolia L.f.
  • Achyranthes debilis Poir.
  • Achyranthes diffusa Moench
  • Achyranthes globosa Pers.
  • Achyranthes mollis Lepr. ex Seub.
  • Achyranthes prostrata L.
  • Achyranthes repens B.Heyne ex Roth
  • Cyathula alternifolia Druce
  • Cyathula geniculata Lour.
  • Cyathula globosa (Pers.) Moq.
  • Cyathula lancifolia Merr.
  • Cyathula lancifolia var. stenophylla Merr.
  • Cyathula pedicellata C.B.Clarke
  • Cyathula prostrata f. pedicellata (C.B.Clarke) Hauman
  • Cyathula prostrata var. prostrata (L.) Blume
  • Cyathula repens Moq.
  • Desmochaeta globosa (Pers.) Schult.
  • Desmochaeta micrantha DC.
  • Desmochaeta prostrata (L.) DC.
  • Desmochaeta repens Schult.
  • Pupalia prostrata (L.) Mart.

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.