Scleria distansPoir.

WFO wfo-0000549641 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Scleria distans, photographed by Jay Horn
fig. a Jay Horn, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-21 / obs. 199514125
Scleria distans, photographed by Jay Horn
fig. b Jay Horn, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 196865770
Scleria distans, photographed by Sergio Olalde
fig. c Sergio Olalde, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 178473756
Scleria distans, photographed by Jay Horn
fig. d Jay Horn, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 163640612
Scleria distans, photographed by Scott Ward
fig. e Scott Ward, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 162710714
Scleria distans, photographed by Scott Ward
fig. f Scott Ward, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 143942924
Scleria distans, photographed by Scott Ward
fig. g Scott Ward, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 93746962
Scleria distans, photographed by Will McFarland
fig. h Will McFarland, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 83011799

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 72 botanical countries

Regions where Scleria distans is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Central African Republic, Congo, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas, Argentina Northeast, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, French Guiana, Galápagos, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Leeward Is., Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesCentral African RepublicCongoDR CongoEthiopiaGabonGhanaGuineaIvory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLiberiaMadagascarMalawiMaliMozambiqueNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaAlabamaFloridaGeorgiaLouisianaMexico GulfMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestMississippiNorth CarolinaTexasArgentina NortheastBelizeBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasNicaraguaPanamáParaguayPeruPuerto RicoSurinameTrinidad-TobagoUruguayVenezuela MauritiusGalápagosLeeward Is.Venezuelan Antilles
Native distribution of Scleria distans, 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 Provinces CPP
Central African Republic CAF
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Liberia LBR
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Belize BLZ
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
French Guiana FRG
Galápagos GAL
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Honduras HON
Leeward Is. LEE
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Uruguay URU
Venezuela VEN
Venezuelan Antilles VNA
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Louisiana LOU
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
Mississippi MSI
North Carolina NCA
Texas TEX

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.

  • Anerma hispidula Schrad. ex Nees
  • Cenchrus hirsutus Spreng.
  • Hypoporum distans (Poir.) Nees
  • Hypoporum humile Nees
  • Hypoporum nutans (Willd. ex Kunth) Nees
  • Scleria cenchroides Kunth
  • Scleria hirtella Boeckeler
  • Scleria hirtella var. chondrocarpa Nelmes
  • Scleria hirtella var. glabrescens Boeckeler
  • Scleria hirtella var. pauciciliata Britton
  • Scleria hirtella var. tuberculata Boeckeler ex C.B.Clarke
  • Scleria humilis Britton
  • Scleria michauxii Chapm.
  • Scleria mollis Kunth
  • Scleria nutans Willd. ex Kunth
  • Scleria tenella Griseb.

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.