Schoenoplectus subulatus(Vahl) Lye

WFO wfo-0000528340 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0

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.

Schoenoplectus subulatus, photographed by S.MORE
fig. a S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / 2021-08-21 / obs. 152924583
Schoenoplectus subulatus, photographed by S.MORE
fig. b S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 152925233
Schoenoplectus subulatus, photographed by S.MORE
fig. c S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 152925258
Schoenoplectus subulatus, photographed by S.MORE
fig. d S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 152924626
Schoenoplectus subulatus, photographed by S.MORE
fig. e S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 152924673
Schoenoplectus subulatus, photographed by S.MORE
fig. f S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 152924711
Schoenoplectus subulatus, photographed by insiderelic
fig. g insiderelic, CC0 1.0 / obs. 109717543
Schoenoplectus subulatus, photographed by insiderelic
fig. h insiderelic, CC0 1.0 / obs. 109717554

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 46 botanical countries

Regions where Schoenoplectus subulatus is native: Algeria, Angola, Burkina, Burundi, Chad, Comoros, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan-South Sudan, Afghanistan, Hainan, Iran, Nansei-shoto, Oman, Taiwan, Andaman Is., India, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Line Is., Marianas, New Caledonia, Phoenix Is., Tubuai Is. AlgeriaAngolaBurkinaBurundiChadDR CongoEgyptEthiopiaGabonGuineaMadagascarMoroccoNamibiaNigerRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSudan-South SudanAfghanistanHainanIranOmanTaiwanIndiaJawaLesser Sunda Is.New GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaThailandVietnamNew South WalesNorthern TerritoryQueenslandSouth AustraliaWestern AustraliaNew Caledonia ComorosNansei-shotoAndaman Is.Nicobar Is.Line Is.MarianasTubuai Is.
Native distribution of Schoenoplectus subulatus, 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
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Chad CHA
Comoros COM
DR Congo ZAI
Egypt EGY
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Guinea GUI
Madagascar MDG
Morocco MOR
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
India IND
Jawa JAW
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
New Guinea NWG
Nicobar Is. NCB
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Hainan CHH
Iran IRN
Nansei-shoto NNS
Oman OMA
Taiwan TAI
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
Northern Territory NTA
Queensland QLD
South Australia SOA
Western Australia WAU
Line Is. LIN PACIFIC
Marianas MRN
New Caledonia NWC
Phoenix Is. PHX
Tubuai Is. TUB

Not drawn on the map: Phoenix Is.. 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 14 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.

  • Malacochaete pectinata (Roxb.) Nees
  • Pterolepis litoralis subsp. subulatus (Vahl) M.R.Almeida
  • Schoenoplectus litoralis subsp. subulatus (Vahl) T.Koyama
  • Schoenoplectus litoralis subsp. subulatus (Vahl) Soják
  • Schoenoplectus litoralis subsp. thermalis (Trab.) S.S.Hooper
  • Schoenoplectus litoralis var. subulatus (Vahl) Chiov.
  • Scirpus litoralis subsp. subulatus (Vahl) Wad.Khan
  • Scirpus litoralis subsp. thermalis (Trab.) Murb.
  • Scirpus litoralis var. subulatus (Vahl) Chiov.
  • Scirpus litoralis var. thermalis Trab.
  • Scirpus pectinatus Roxb.
  • Scirpus subulatus Vahl
  • Scirpus subulatus var. capensis Boeckeler
  • Scirpus wardianus J.R.Drumm.

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.