Fimbristylis quinquangularis(Vahl) Kunth

fiveangle fimbry

WFO wfo-0000422882 Accepted WFO 2026-06 3 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–c · 1 observation

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 1 time, 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.

Fimbristylis quinquangularis, photographed by Sam Kieschnick
fig. a Sam Kieschnick, CC BY 4.0 / 2019-11-01 / obs. 55699272
Fimbristylis quinquangularis, photographed by Sam Kieschnick
fig. b Sam Kieschnick, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 55699237
Fimbristylis quinquangularis, photographed by Sam Kieschnick
fig. c Sam Kieschnick, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 55699254

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 62 botanical countries

Regions where Fimbristylis quinquangularis is native: Burkina, Burundi, Chad, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Nigeria, Réunion, Senegal, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Afghanistan, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Ogasawara-shoto, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Tibet, Uzbekistan, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, Kentucky BurkinaBurundiChadCongoDR CongoEquatorial GuineaEthiopiaGabonGambiaGuineaIvory CoastKenyaMadagascarMalawiMauritaniaNigeriaSenegalSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaAfghanistanChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanIraqKazakhstanOmanSaudi ArabiaTaiwanTibetUzbekistanAssamBangladeshCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLesser Sunda Is.MalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNorthern TerritoryQueenslandWestern AustraliaKentucky ComorosMauritiusRéunionAndaman Is.Nicobar Is.
Native distribution of Fimbristylis quinquangularis, 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
Burkina BKN AFRICA
Burundi BUR
Chad CHA
Comoros COM
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Equatorial Guinea EQG
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Guinea GUI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mauritania MTN
Mauritius MAU
Nigeria NGA
Réunion REU
Senegal SEN
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Cambodia CBD
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Maluku MOL
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
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Iraq IRQ
Kazakhstan KAZ
Ogasawara-shoto OGA
Oman OMA
Saudi Arabia SAU
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Uzbekistan UZB
Northern Territory NTA AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD
Western Australia WAU
Kentucky KTY NORTHERN AMERICA

Not drawn on the map: Ogasawara-shoto. 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.

Also published as 34 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.

  • Fimbristylis angularis Link
  • Fimbristylis bengalensis (Pers.) Roem. & Schult.
  • Fimbristylis fauriei Ohwi
  • Fimbristylis miliacea (L.) Vahl
  • Fimbristylis miliacea subsp. macroglumis Lye
  • Fimbristylis miliacea subsp. pallescens Lye
  • Fimbristylis mucronata Vahl
  • Fimbristylis quinquangularis var. bistaminifera Tang & F.T.Wang
  • Fimbristylis quinquangularis var. elata Tang & F.T.Wang
  • Fimbristylis quinquangularis var. quinquangularis
  • Iria angularis (Link) Kuntze
  • Iria miliacea (L.) Kuntze
  • Iria quinquangularis (Vahl) Kuntze
  • Isolepis angularis Schrad.
  • Isolepis miliacea (L.) J.Presl & C.Presl
  • Isolepis miliacea var. major J.Presl & C.Presl
  • Isolepis pentagona (Roxb.) Schult.
  • Isolepis tetragona Schult.
  • Scirpus bengalensis Pers.
  • Scirpus miliaceus L.
  • Scirpus niloticus Blanco
  • Scirpus parviflorus Willd. ex Kunth
  • Scirpus pentagonus Roxb.
  • Scirpus plantagineus Roxb.

and 10 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.