Rotala mexicanaSchltdl. & Cham.

diminutive rotala

WFO wfo-0000404310 Accepted WFO 2026-06 4 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–d · 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.

Rotala mexicana, photographed by Scott W. Gavins
fig. a Scott W. Gavins, CC BY 4.0 / 2020-04-16 / obs. 67112362
Rotala mexicana, photographed by Scott W. Gavins
fig. b Scott W. Gavins, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 67112369
Rotala mexicana, photographed by Scott W. Gavins
fig. c Scott W. Gavins, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 67112470
Rotala mexicana, photographed by Scott W. Gavins
fig. d Scott W. Gavins, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 67112498

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 64 botanical countries

Regions where Rotala mexicana is native: Angola, Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Senegal, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China North-Central, China Southeast, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Argentina Northeast, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela AngolaBeninBurkinaCameroonCentral African RepublicChadEthiopiaGuinea-BissauIvory CoastKenyaMalawiMaliMozambiqueNamibiaNigeriaNorthern ProvincesSenegalSudan-South SudanTanzaniaUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina North-CentralChina SoutheastJapanTaiwanAssamBangladeshEast HimalayaIndiaJawaMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPhilippinesThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNorthern TerritoryQueenslandWestern AustraliaMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestArgentina NortheastBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaHondurasNicaraguaPanamáParaguaySurinameVenezuela Korea
Native distribution of Rotala mexicana, 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
Burkina BKN
Cameroon CMN
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Ethiopia ETH
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Senegal SEN
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
French Guiana FRG
Guatemala GUA
Honduras HON
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Suriname SUR
Venezuela VEN
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Philippines PHI
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
China North-Central CHN ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Japan JAP
Korea KOR
Taiwan TAI
Mexico Gulf MXG NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
Northern Territory NTA AUSTRALASIA
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 28 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.

  • Ammannia littorea Miq.
  • Ammannia mexicana (Cham. & Schltdl.) Baill.
  • Ammannia pygmaea Kurz
  • Ammannia rotala F.Muell.
  • Hoshiarpuria minutiflora Hajra, P.Daniel & Philcox
  • Hypobrichia spruceana Benth.
  • Hypobrichia spruceana var. tenuifolia Griseb.
  • Rotala apetala F.Muell.
  • Rotala diglossa Koehne
  • Rotala diglossandra Koehne
  • Rotala leptopetala var. littorea (Miq.) Koehne
  • Rotala littorea (Miq.) Nakai
  • Rotala longibracteolata Domin
  • Rotala mexicana f. major Koehne
  • Rotala mexicana f. media Koehne
  • Rotala mexicana f. minima Koehne
  • Rotala mexicana subsp. hierniana Koehne
  • Rotala mexicana subsp. pusilla (Tul.) Koehne
  • Rotala mexicana subsp. typica Koehne
  • Rotala mexicana var. apetala (F.Muell.) Lourteig
  • Rotala mexicana var. chamissoana Koehne
  • Rotala mexicana var. spruceana (Benth.) Koehne
  • Rotala mexicana var. spruceana (Hiern) Koehne
  • Rotala petaloidea Wight ex Steud.

and 4 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.