Fimbristylis ferruginea(L.) Vahl

West Indian FimbryWest Indian fimbry

WFO wfo-0000420815 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Fimbristylis ferruginea, photographed by Greg Tasney
fig. a Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2022-06-13 / obs. 205979786

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.

The specimen a real sheet, in a real collection

Herbarium
The New York Botanical Garden
Accession
991914
Filed as
Fimbristylis ferruginea (L.) Vahl
Det. by
M. T. Strong 2001-01-01
Collected
R. O. Woodbury 1968-08-22
Origin
PR
The sheet
View the digitised specimen (CC BY 4.0)

A real pressed plant, in a real collection, under the accession number above. Not an illustration of one. The holding institution does not serve this sheet’s image to third parties, so there is no photograph here. The record is real and the link goes to it. Where we hold no openly licensed sheet for a species this section is simply absent, and where a sheet never recorded who determined it, that field stays empty rather than being filled in. Roughly half of all herbarium sheets never recorded a determiner, which is ordinary.

Native range 110 botanical countries

Regions where Fimbristylis ferruginea is native: Aldabra, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Cape Provinces, Chad, Congo, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Réunion, Rodrigues, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Gulf States, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Yemen, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, India, Jawa, Laccadive Is., Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Philippines, South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Vietnam, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Kriti, Spain, Mexico Southeast, Marquesas, New Caledonia, Society Is., Bahamas, Belize, Cayman Is., Cuba, Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is. AlgeriaAngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaCape ProvincesChadCongoDjiboutiDR CongoEgyptEquatorial GuineaEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLiberiaLibyaMadagascarMauritaniaMoroccoMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoZambiaZimbabweAfghanistanCyprusEast Aegean Is.Gulf StatesIranIraqLebanon-SyriaNorth CaucasusOmanPalestineSaudi ArabiaSinaiTranscaucasusTürkiyeYemenAssamBangladeshBismarck ArchipelagoBorneoIndiaJawaLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNew GuineaPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraVietnamNew South WalesNorthern TerritoryQueenslandSouth AustraliaWestern AustraliaKritiSpainMexico SoutheastNew CaledoniaBelizeCubaDominican RepublicFrench GuianaGuyanaHaitiJamaicaPuerto RicoSurinameTrinidad-TobagoVenezuela AldabraMauritiusRéunionRodriguesAndaman Is.Laccadive Is.Nicobar Is.South China SeaMarquesasSociety Is.BahamasCayman Is.Leeward Is.Netherlands AntillesVenezuelan AntillesWindward Is.
Native distribution of Fimbristylis ferruginea, 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
Aldabra ALD AFRICA
Algeria ALG
Angola ANG
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Cape Provinces CPP
Chad CHA
Congo CON
Djibouti DJI
DR Congo ZAI
Egypt EGY
Equatorial Guinea EQG
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Liberia LBR
Libya LBY
Madagascar MDG
Mauritania MTN
Mauritius MAU
Morocco MOR
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Réunion REU
Rodrigues ROD
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Socotra SOC
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Bismarck Archipelago BIS
Borneo BOR
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laccadive Is. LDV
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
New Guinea NWG
Nicobar Is. NCB
Philippines PHI
South China Sea SCS
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Vietnam VIE
Bahamas BAH SOUTHERN AMERICA
Belize BLZ
Cayman Is. CAY
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
French Guiana FRG
Guyana GUY
Haiti HAI
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Netherlands Antilles NLA
Puerto Rico PUE
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Venezuela VEN
Venezuelan Antilles VNA
Windward Is. WIN
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Cyprus CYP
East Aegean Is. EAI
Gulf States GST
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Lebanon-Syria LBS
North Caucasus NCS
Oman OMA
Palestine PAL
Saudi Arabia SAU
Sinai SIN
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Yemen YEM
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
Northern Territory NTA
Queensland QLD
South Australia SOA
Western Australia WAU
Marquesas MRQ PACIFIC
New Caledonia NWC
Society Is. SCI
Kriti KRI EUROPE
Spain SPA
Mexico Southeast MXT NORTHERN AMERICA

Not drawn on the map: Socotra. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is 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.

Where it actually grows measured, from 185 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low 10.5 °C 13.3 °C 19.2 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 25.7 °C 28.3 °C 31.1 °C
Annual rainfall 728 mm 1,140 mm 2,004 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 36 mm 121 mm 207 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 185 research-grade observations of Fimbristylis ferruginea 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 45 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.

  • Campylostachys abbreviata E.Mey.
  • Campylostachys abbreviata E.Mey.
  • Eleocharis juncoides Schult.
  • Fimbristylis andamandica Kurz
  • Fimbristylis arvensis (Retz.) Vahl
  • Fimbristylis brevifolia R.Br.
  • Fimbristylis ciliata C.B.Clarke ex Drobow
  • Fimbristylis compressa Roem. & Schult.
  • Fimbristylis cyrtophylla Miq.
  • Fimbristylis ferruginea f. decomposita Domin
  • Fimbristylis ferruginea subsp. sieberiana (Kunth) Lye
  • Fimbristylis ferruginea var. compacta Kük.
  • Fimbristylis ferruginea var. ferruginea
  • Fimbristylis ferruginea var. foliata Benth.
  • Fimbristylis ferruginea var. sieberiana (Kunth) Boeckeler
  • Fimbristylis ferruginea var. typica Domin
  • Fimbristylis leiocarpa Miq.
  • Fimbristylis lomentocarpa Hochst. ex A.Rich.
  • Fimbristylis marginata Labill.
  • Fimbristylis mauritiana Tausch ex C.Presl
  • Fimbristylis ochreata Boeckeler
  • Fimbristylis paucispicata F.Muell.
  • Fimbristylis roxburghii A.Dietr.
  • Fimbristylis sieberiana Kunth

and 21 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.