Grewia tenax(Forssk.) Fiori

WFO wfo-0000710340 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Grewia tenax, photographed by Sayee Girdhari
fig. a Sayee Girdhari, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-10-02 / obs. 177237169
Grewia tenax, photographed by Wynand Uys
fig. b Wynand Uys, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 15700748
Grewia tenax, photographed by Fabien Anthelme
fig. c Fabien Anthelme, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 103012489
Grewia tenax, photographed by rosshawkins
fig. d rosshawkins, CC0 1.0 / obs. 178422219
Grewia tenax, photographed by rosshawkins
fig. e rosshawkins, CC0 1.0 / obs. 178189855
Grewia tenax, photographed by rosshawkins
fig. f rosshawkins, CC0 1.0 / obs. 158815581
Grewia tenax, photographed by Dave U
fig. g Dave U, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 157359143
Grewia tenax, photographed by Karim Haddad
fig. h Karim Haddad, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 57040798

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 39 botanical countries

Regions where Grewia tenax is native: Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burkina, Caprivi Strip, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Gulf States, Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Yemen, Assam, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Himalaya AlgeriaAngolaBotswanaBurkinaCaprivi StripChadDjiboutiEgyptEritreaEthiopiaKenyaMaliMauritaniaMoroccoNamibiaNigerNigeriaSenegalSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaUgandaWestern SaharaZimbabweAfghanistanGulf StatesIranOmanSaudi ArabiaSinaiYemenAssamBangladeshIndiaPakistanSri LankaWest Himalaya Mauritius
Native distribution of Grewia tenax, 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
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Angola ANG
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Caprivi Strip CPV
Chad CHA
Djibouti DJI
Egypt EGY
Eritrea ERI
Ethiopia ETH
Kenya KEN
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Mauritius MAU
Morocco MOR
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Senegal SEN
Socotra SOC
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Western Sahara WSA
Zimbabwe ZIM
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Gulf States GST
Iran IRN
Oman OMA
Saudi Arabia SAU
Sinai SIN
Yemen YEM
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
India IND
Pakistan PAK
Sri Lanka SRL
West Himalaya WHM

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.

Also published as 10 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.

  • Chadara tenax Forssk.
  • Grewia betulifolia Juss.
  • Grewia chaadara Lam.
  • Grewia makranica Rech.f. & Esfand.
  • Grewia populifolia Vahl
  • Grewia ribesiaefolia Hochst. ex Mast.
  • Grewia tenax var. betulifolia (Juss.) Maire
  • Grewia tenax var. capillipes Lanza
  • Grewia tenax var. glechomifolia Chiov.
  • Grewia tenax var. ribesifolia Fiori

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.