Polycarpaea corymbosa(L.) Lam.

oldman's cap

WFO wfo-0000395455 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Polycarpaea corymbosa, photographed by natalie
fig. a natalie, CC0 1.0 / 2022-03-13 / obs. 182788419
Polycarpaea corymbosa, photographed by natalie
fig. b natalie, CC0 1.0 / obs. 164312842
Polycarpaea corymbosa, photographed by Antoinette Eyssell Knox
fig. c Antoinette Eyssell Knox, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 115517504
Polycarpaea corymbosa, photographed by natalie
fig. d natalie, CC0 1.0 / obs. 108943124
Polycarpaea corymbosa, photographed by natalie
fig. e natalie, CC0 1.0 / obs. 95862751
Polycarpaea corymbosa, photographed by Marc Fradera-Soler
fig. f Marc Fradera-Soler, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 13914688
Polycarpaea corymbosa, photographed by natalie
fig. g natalie, CC0 1.0 / obs. 157370517
Polycarpaea corymbosa, photographed by natalie
fig. h natalie, CC0 1.0 / obs. 106851792

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 73 botanical countries

Regions where Polycarpaea corymbosa is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Canary Is., Caprivi Strip, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Maluku, Myanmar, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, Argentina Northeast, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Guyana, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCaprivi StripCentral African RepublicChadCongoDR CongoEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaGambiaGuineaGuinea-BissauIvory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMozambiqueNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSudan-South SudanTanzaniaUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanTaiwanBangladeshCambodiaIndiaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalukuMyanmarNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNew South WalesNorthern TerritoryQueenslandWestern AustraliaArgentina NortheastBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralGuyanaPanamáParaguayPeruSurinameVenezuela Canary Is.
Native distribution of Polycarpaea corymbosa, 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
Canary Is. CNY
Caprivi Strip CPV
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Gambia GAM
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Mozambique MOZ
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Bangladesh BAN ASIA-TROPICAL
Cambodia CBD
India IND
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
New Guinea NWG
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Guyana GUY
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Suriname SUR
Venezuela VEN
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Taiwan TAI
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
Northern Territory NTA
Queensland QLD
Western Australia WAU

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 23 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.

  • Achyranthes corymbosa L.
  • Celosia corymbosa (L.) Retz.
  • Lahaya corymbosa (L.) Schult.
  • Lahaya corymbosa Roem. & Schult.
  • Mollia corymbosa (L.) Willd.
  • Mollia spadicea Willd.
  • Polycarpa brevifolia Kuntze
  • Polycarpa corymbosa Kuntze
  • Polycarpaea atherophora Steud.
  • Polycarpaea brasiliensis Cambess.
  • Polycarpaea brasiliensis var. ramosissima Cambess.
  • Polycarpaea brasiliensis var. ramosissima Camb.
  • Polycarpaea brevifolia O.F.Müll.
  • Polycarpaea corymbosa var. brevifolia Domin
  • Polycarpaea corymbosa var. corymbosa
  • Polycarpaea corymbosa var. typica Domin
  • Polycarpaea densiflora Wall.
  • Polycarpaea eriantha var. effusa (Oliv.) Turrill
  • Polycarpaea filifolia Muschl.
  • Polycarpaea indica Lam.
  • Polycarpaea nebulosa Lakela
  • Polycarpaea spadicea Lam.
  • Polycarpaea subulata Wight & Arn.

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.