Sesamum alatumThonn.

sesamum

WFO wfo-0000497096 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Sesamum alatum, photographed by Paulmathi Vinod
fig. a Paulmathi Vinod, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-08-02 / obs. 148008715
Sesamum alatum, photographed by Jens-Christian Svenning
fig. b Jens-Christian Svenning, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 60199264
Sesamum alatum, photographed by rosshawkins
fig. c rosshawkins, CC0 1.0 / obs. 178099182
Sesamum alatum, photographed by Manuel R Popp
fig. d Manuel R Popp, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 177046968
Sesamum alatum, photographed by Kelly Abram
fig. e Kelly Abram, CC0 1.0 / obs. 176556937
Sesamum alatum, photographed by Presha Soogrim
fig. f Presha Soogrim, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 177147961
Sesamum alatum, photographed by Jens-Christian Svenning
fig. g Jens-Christian Svenning, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 60416057
Sesamum alatum, photographed by Andrew Deacon
fig. h Andrew Deacon, CC0 1.0 / obs. 103460279

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 27 botanical countries

Regions where Sesamum alatum is native: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Cameroon, Caprivi Strip, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Senegal, Sudan-South Sudan, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zimbabwe AngolaBeninBotswanaBurkinaCameroonCaprivi StripChadEgyptEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaGhanaGuineaKenyaKwaZulu-NatalMaliMauritaniaMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesSenegalSudan-South SudanWestern SaharaZambiaZimbabwe
Native distribution of Sesamum alatum, 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.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Angola ANG AFRICA
Benin BEN
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Cameroon CMN
Caprivi Strip CPV
Chad CHA
Egypt EGY
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Senegal SEN
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Western Sahara WSA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM

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 8 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.

  • Sesamopteris alata (Thonn.) DC. ex Meisn.
  • Sesamum ekambaramii Naidu
  • Sesamum gracile Endl.
  • Sesamum pterospermum R.Br. ex Guill.
  • Sesamum rostratum Hochst.
  • Sesamum sabulosum A.Chev.
  • Simsimum rostratum Bernh.
  • Volkameria alata (Thonn.) Kuntze

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.