Rottboellia cochinchinensis(Lour.) Clayton

itchgrass

WFO wfo-0000896247 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Rottboellia cochinchinensis, photographed by 葉子
fig. a 葉子, CC0 1.0 / 2021-09-29 / obs. 173679569
Rottboellia cochinchinensis, photographed by Jacy Chen
fig. b Jacy Chen, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 134077659
Rottboellia cochinchinensis, photographed by Jacy Chen
fig. c Jacy Chen, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 134077216
Rottboellia cochinchinensis, photographed by John Kees
fig. d John Kees, CC0 1.0 / obs. 96362237
Rottboellia cochinchinensis, photographed by Sam Kieschnick
fig. e Sam Kieschnick, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 55592584
Rottboellia cochinchinensis, photographed by John Kees
fig. f John Kees, CC0 1.0 / obs. 54522578
Rottboellia cochinchinensis, photographed by John Kees
fig. g John Kees, CC0 1.0 / obs. 51478829
Rottboellia cochinchinensis, photographed by bat (Maria Vorontsova)
fig. h bat (Maria Vorontsova), CC0 1.0 / obs. 104260772

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 74 botanical countries

Regions where Rottboellia cochinchinensis is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Réunion, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Nansei-shoto, Oman, Taiwan, Yemen, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Christmas I., East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Myanmar, New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Is., South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Northern Territory, Queensland AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCentral African RepublicChadCongoDR CongoEquatorial GuineaEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMaliMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanOmanTaiwanYemenAssamBangladeshEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMyanmarNew GuineaPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNorthern TerritoryQueensland Cape VerdeComorosMauritiusRéunionSeychellesNansei-shotoAndaman Is.Christmas I.South China Sea
Native distribution of Rottboellia cochinchinensis, 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
Cape Verde CVI
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Comoros COM
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Equatorial Guinea EQG
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Réunion REU
Senegal SEN
Seychelles SEY
Sierra Leone SIE
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Christmas I. XMS
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Myanmar MYA
New Guinea NWG
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
South China Sea SCS
Sri Lanka SRL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Nansei-shoto NNS
Oman OMA
Taiwan TAI
Yemen YEM
Northern Territory NTA AUSTRALASIA
Queensland QLD

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 16 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.

  • Aegilops fluviatilis Blanco
  • Manisuris exaltata Kuntze
  • Manisuris exaltata var. appendiculata (Steud.) Honda
  • Ophiuros appendiculatus Steud.
  • Rottboellia arundinacea Hochst. ex A.Rich.
  • Rottboellia denudata Steud.
  • Rottboellia exaltata L.f.
  • Rottboellia exaltata f. arundinacea (Hochst. ex A.Rich.) Hack.
  • Rottboellia exaltata f. glaberrima Chiov.
  • Rottboellia exaltata var. appendiculata (Steud.) Hack.
  • Rottboellia exaltata var. robusta Hook.f.
  • Rottboellia hispida Roxb. ex Hook.f.
  • Rottboellia setosa J.Presl
  • Stegosia cochinchinensis Lour.
  • Stegosia cochinchinensis var. robusta (Hook.f.) M.R.Almeida & S.Yadav
  • Stegosia exaltata (Kuntze) Nash

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.