Rhynchospora browniiRoem. & Schult.

WFO wfo-0000514380 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 2 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 2 times, 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.

Rhynchospora brownii, photographed by Charles Stirton
fig. a Charles Stirton, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2009-11-09 / obs. 15122081
Rhynchospora brownii, photographed by Charles Stirton
fig. b Charles Stirton, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 15122086
Rhynchospora brownii, photographed by Charles Stirton
fig. c Charles Stirton, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 15122082
Rhynchospora brownii, photographed by kevin koen
fig. d kevin koen, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 117389784
Rhynchospora brownii, photographed by kevin koen
fig. e kevin koen, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 117389815
Rhynchospora brownii, photographed by kevin koen
fig. f kevin koen, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 117389845
Rhynchospora brownii, photographed by kevin koen
fig. g kevin koen, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 117389885
Rhynchospora brownii, photographed by Charles Stirton
fig. h Charles Stirton, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 15122083

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 52 botanical countries

Regions where Rhynchospora brownii is native: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Central African Republic, Chad, DR Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Réunion, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China South-Central, China Southeast, Japan, Nansei-shoto, Taiwan, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Malaya, Nepal, New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria AngolaBotswanaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesCentral African RepublicChadDR CongoEswatiniEthiopiaGabonGuineaIvory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLesothoMadagascarMalawiMozambiqueNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaTanzaniaUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina South-CentralChina SoutheastJapanTaiwanAssamBangladeshBorneoEast HimalayaIndiaJawaMalayaNepalNew GuineaPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamNew South WalesQueenslandVictoria MauritiusRéunionNansei-shotoAndaman Is.
Native distribution of Rhynchospora brownii, 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
Botswana BOT
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
DR Congo ZAI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Guinea GUI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Lesotho LES
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Réunion REU
Rwanda RWA
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Borneo BOR
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Malaya MLY
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Japan JAP
Nansei-shoto NNS
Taiwan TAI
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD
Victoria VIC

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 29 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.

  • Chaetospora ferruginea Kunth
  • Chaetospora mauritii Steud.
  • Chaetospora vicozensis Schrad.
  • Rhynchospora brownii var. condensata (Kük.) Ohwi
  • Rhynchospora brunnea Willd. ex Kunth
  • Rhynchospora castanea Nees & Meyen
  • Rhynchospora distans Beyr. ex Kunth
  • Rhynchospora effusa Schrad. ex Nees
  • Rhynchospora glauca var. chinensis C.B.Clarke
  • Rhynchospora glauca var. condensata Kük.
  • Rhynchospora glauca var. juncea (Willd. ex Link) Cherm.
  • Rhynchospora griffithii Boeckeler
  • Rhynchospora griffithii var. levisetis C.B.Clarke
  • Rhynchospora juncea Willd. ex Kunth
  • Rhynchospora laevis Schltdl.
  • Rhynchospora lavarum Hook. & Arn.
  • Rhynchospora laxa R.Br.
  • Rhynchospora laxa var. chinensis C.B.Clarke
  • Rhynchospora laxa var. minor Thwaites
  • Rhynchospora petraea Nees
  • Rhynchospora rugosa subsp. brownii (Roem. & Schult.) T.Koyama
  • Rhynchospora rugosa var. condensata (Kük.) T.Koyama
  • Rhynchospora rugosa var. griffithii (Boeckeler) D.M.Verma & Veena Chandra
  • Rhynchospora rugosa var. sikkimensis (C.B.Clarke) D.M.Verma & Veena Chandra

and 5 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.