Echinochloa stagnina(Retz.) P.Beauv.

hippo grass

WFO wfo-0000865427 Accepted WFO 2026-06 5 photographs CC0

Plate 1 figs. a–e · 2 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 2 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.

Echinochloa stagnina, photographed by bat (Maria Vorontsova)
fig. a bat (Maria Vorontsova), CC0 1.0 / 2011-10-30 / obs. 105334499
Echinochloa stagnina, photographed by bat (Maria Vorontsova)
fig. b bat (Maria Vorontsova), CC0 1.0 / obs. 105327004
Echinochloa stagnina, photographed by bat (Maria Vorontsova)
fig. c bat (Maria Vorontsova), CC0 1.0 / obs. 105326685
Echinochloa stagnina, photographed by bat (Maria Vorontsova)
fig. d bat (Maria Vorontsova), CC0 1.0 / obs. 105334958
Echinochloa stagnina, photographed by bat (Maria Vorontsova)
fig. e bat (Maria Vorontsova), CC0 1.0 / obs. 105327008

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 59 botanical countries

Regions where Echinochloa stagnina is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Free State, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Réunion, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, India, Jawa, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCentral African RepublicChadCongoDR CongoEgyptEthiopiaFree StateGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauIvory CoastKenyaLesothoMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweAssamBangladeshBorneoIndiaJawaLaosMalayaMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest Himalaya RéunionAndaman Is.Nicobar Is.
Native distribution of Echinochloa stagnina, 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
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Egypt EGY
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
Lesotho LES
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Réunion REU
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
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
Borneo BOR
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laos LAO
Malaya MLY
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Nicobar Is. NCB
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM

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 38 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.

  • Echinochloa barbata Vanderyst
  • Echinochloa crus-galli var. sieberiana (Asch. & Schweinf.) A.Chev.
  • Echinochloa crus-galli var. stolonifera (Schweinf. & Muschl.) A.Chev.
  • Echinochloa crus-galli var. stoloniferum (Schweinf. & Muschl.) A.Chev.
  • Echinochloa hostii Steven ex Link
  • Echinochloa lelievrei (A.Chev.) Berhaut
  • Echinochloa malakuensis Vanderyst
  • Echinochloa oryzetorum (A.Chev.) A.Chev.
  • Echinochloa scabra Roem. & Schult.
  • Oplismenus scaber Kunth
  • Oplismenus stagninus Kunth
  • Orthopogon stagninus Spreng.
  • Panicum burgu A.Chev.
  • Panicum burgu var. submuticum (Franch.) A.Chev.
  • Panicum crus-galli var. leiostachyum Franch.
  • Panicum crus-galli var. maximum Franch.
  • Panicum crus-galli var. sieberianum Asch. & Schweinf.
  • Panicum crus-galli var. stagninum Kuntze
  • Panicum crus-galli var. stagninum (Retz.) Trimen
  • Panicum crus-galli var. stoloniferum Schweinf. & Muschl.
  • Panicum crus-galli var. submuticum Franch.
  • Panicum galli Thunb.
  • Panicum lelieveri var. leiostachyum (Franch.) A.Chev.
  • Panicum lelievrei A.Chev.

and 14 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.