Elionurus muticus(Spreng.) Kuntze

WFO wfo-0000865842 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Elionurus muticus, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. a Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2017-02-24 / obs. 16021351
Elionurus muticus, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. b Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 16013942
Elionurus muticus, photographed by Alan Manson
fig. c Alan Manson, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 28558490
Elionurus muticus, photographed by Brian du Preez
fig. d Brian du Preez, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 15314349
Elionurus muticus, photographed by Nicola van Berkel
fig. e Nicola van Berkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 15199072
Elionurus muticus, photographed by kevin koen
fig. f kevin koen, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 107636157
Elionurus muticus, photographed by Andrew Deacon
fig. g Andrew Deacon, CC0 1.0 / obs. 13393666
Elionurus muticus, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. h Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 24781891

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 51 botanical countries

Regions where Elionurus muticus is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Central African Republic, Congo, DR Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Free State, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Yemen, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesCentral African RepublicCongoDR CongoEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateGabonGuineaGuinea-BissauIvory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLesothoMalawiMozambiqueNamibiaNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaUgandaZambiaZimbabweYemenArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestArgentina SouthBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaFrench GuianaGuyanaParaguayPeruSurinameUruguayVenezuela
Native distribution of Elionurus muticus, 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.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Angola ANG AFRICA
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Central African Republic CAF
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Gabon GAB
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Lesotho LES
Malawi MLW
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Rwanda RWA
Sierra Leone SIE
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Argentina South AGS
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
French Guiana FRG
Guyana GUY
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Suriname SUR
Uruguay URU
Venezuela VEN
Yemen YEM ASIA-TEMPERATE

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 200 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low -2.0 °C 2.8 °C 13.0 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 20.3 °C 25.8 °C 31.9 °C
Annual rainfall 521 mm 737 mm 1,454 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 15 mm 35 mm 229 mm

It is found where winters bring light frost. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 200 research-grade observations of Elionurus muticus 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 52 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.

  • Anatherum megapotamicum Spreng.
  • Andropogon adustus Trin.
  • Andropogon caespitosus A.Rich.
  • Andropogon candidus Trin.
  • Andropogon chlorostachys Trin.
  • Andropogon dubius Kunth
  • Andropogon dubius K.Koch
  • Andropogon latiflorus Nees ex Steud.
  • Andropogon latiflorus Steud.
  • Andropogon rostratus Trin.
  • Andropogon tenuifolius Steud.
  • Andropogon thymiodorus Steud.
  • Elionurus adustus (Trin.) Ekman
  • Elionurus adustus var. adustus
  • Elionurus adustus var. calvescens (Hack.) Hicken
  • Elionurus argenteus Nees
  • Elionurus argenteus var. argenteus
  • Elionurus argenteus var. caespitosus (A.Rich.) Hack.
  • Elionurus argenteus var. genuinus Hack.
  • Elionurus argenteus var. thymiodorus (Nees) Stapf
  • Elionurus barbiculmis var. barbiculmis
  • Elionurus candidus (Trin.) Hack.
  • Elionurus candidus var. bisetosis Hack. & Lindm.
  • Elionurus candidus var. bisetosus Hack. ex Lindm.

and 28 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.