Sida spinosaL.

prickly fanpetals

WFO wfo-0000505218 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Sida spinosa, photographed by Greg Tasney
fig. a Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2022-04-06 / obs. 186692393
Sida spinosa, photographed by 葉子
fig. b 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 184802189
Sida spinosa, photographed by Matias Cabezas
fig. c Matias Cabezas, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 177945001
Sida spinosa, photographed by Florencia Grattarola
fig. d Florencia Grattarola, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 178012375
Sida spinosa, photographed by Thomas Koffel
fig. e Thomas Koffel, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 159087422
Sida spinosa, photographed by Ruth Gutiérrez Oliveros
fig. f Ruth Gutiérrez Oliveros, CC0 1.0 / obs. 160215153
Sida spinosa, photographed by Ryan Sorrells
fig. g Ryan Sorrells, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 149488994
Sida spinosa, photographed by 葉子
fig. h 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 135060170

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 98 botanical countries

Regions where Sida spinosa is native: Angola, Benin, Burkina, Burundi, Cape Verde, Caprivi Strip, Chad, Djibouti, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Free State, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Réunion, Rodrigues, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Iran, Oman, Palestine, Transcaucasus, Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, West Himalaya, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Texas, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Aruba, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Cayman Is., Chile North, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, French Guiana, Galápagos, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago, Turks-Caicos Is., Uruguay, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is. AngolaBeninBurkinaBurundiCaprivi StripChadDjiboutiDR CongoEritreaEthiopiaFree StateGambiaGhanaGuineaGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoZambiaZimbabweIranOmanPalestineTranscaucasusAssamBangladeshEast HimalayaIndiaMyanmarPakistanWest HimalayaArizonaFloridaLouisianaMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestTexasArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestBelizeBoliviaBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralChile NorthColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHaitiHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáParaguayPeruPuerto RicoTrinidad-TobagoUruguayVenezuela Cape VerdeMauritiusRéunionRodriguesArubaBahamasCayman Is.GalápagosLeeward Is.Netherlands AntillesTurks-Caicos Is.Venezuelan AntillesWindward Is.
Native distribution of Sida spinosa, 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
Burundi BUR
Cape Verde CVI
Caprivi Strip CPV
Chad CHA
Djibouti DJI
DR Congo ZAI
Eritrea ERI
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Réunion REU
Rodrigues ROD
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Aruba ARU
Bahamas BAH
Belize BLZ
Bolivia BOL
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Cayman Is. CAY
Chile North CLN
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
El Salvador ELS
French Guiana FRG
Galápagos GAL
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Netherlands Antilles NLA
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Turks-Caicos Is. TCI
Uruguay URU
Venezuela VEN
Venezuelan Antilles VNA
Windward Is. WIN
Arizona ARI NORTHERN AMERICA
Florida FLA
Louisiana LOU
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
Texas TEX
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Myanmar MYA
Pakistan PAK
West Himalaya WHM
Iran IRN ASIA-TEMPERATE
Oman OMA
Palestine PAL
Transcaucasus TCS

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 27 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.

  • Malachodendron corchoroides (Forssk.) J.F.Gmel.
  • Malva spinosa (L.) E.H.L.Krause
  • Malvinda alnifolia Medik.
  • Malvinda spinosa (L.) Medik.
  • Malvinda spinosa (L.) Moench
  • Sida angustifolia Lam.
  • Sida angustifolia var. major C.Presl
  • Sida betonicifolia Pav. ex Hemsl.
  • Sida bicolor Cav.
  • Sida bicuspidata J.F.Gmel.
  • Sida boriara Wall.
  • Sida carpinifolia f. balbisiana (DC.) Millsp.
  • Sida emarginata Willd.
  • Sida glandulosa Roxb. ex Wight & Arn.
  • Sida heterocarpa Engelm.
  • Sida milleri DC.
  • Sida minor Macfad.
  • Sida pimpinellifolia Mill.
  • Sida scabra Thonn.
  • Sida spinosa f. albiflora Magrath
  • Sida spinosa var. angustifolia Griseb.
  • Sida spinosa var. kazmii Abedin
  • Sida spinosa var. spinosa
  • Sida subdistans A.St.-Hil. & Naudin

and 3 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.