Sparganium angustifoliumMichx.

Floating Bur-reedNarrowleaf Bur-reedfloating bur-reednarrowleaf bur-reed

WFO wfo-0000553790 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Sparganium angustifolium, photographed by Rafael Medina
fig. a Rafael Medina, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-08-07 / obs. 150222432
Sparganium angustifolium, photographed by Thomas Koffel
fig. b Thomas Koffel, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 149975819
Sparganium angustifolium, photographed by Thomas Koffel
fig. c Thomas Koffel, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 149975747
Sparganium angustifolium, photographed by Jason Grant
fig. d Jason Grant, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 144046085
Sparganium angustifolium, photographed by Syd Cannings
fig. e Syd Cannings, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 88767722
Sparganium angustifolium, photographed by stinger
fig. f stinger, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 90448469
Sparganium angustifolium, photographed by stinger
fig. g stinger, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 90448348
Sparganium angustifolium, photographed by Syd Cannings
fig. h Syd Cannings, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 89842493

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 84 botanical countries

Regions where Sparganium angustifolium is native: Amur, Buryatiya, Chita, Inner Mongolia, Irkutsk, Japan, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Kuril Is., Magadan, Manchuria, Primorye, Sakhalin, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, Assam, East Himalaya, Albania, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, Føroyar, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Alaska, Alberta, Aleutian Is., Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Greenland, Idaho, Labrador, Maine, Manitoba, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Oregon, Prince Edward I., Québec, Saskatchewan, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yukon AmurBuryatiyaChitaInner MongoliaIrkutskJapanKamchatkaKhabarovskKrasnoyarskMagadanManchuriaPrimoryeSakhalinWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaAssamEast HimalayaAlbaniaAustriaBaltic StatesBelarusBelgiumBulgariaCentral European RussiaCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceIcelandIrelandItalyNetherlandsNorth European RussiaNorthwest European RussiaNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandPortugalSpainSwedenSwitzerlandAlaskaAlbertaArizonaBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutGreenlandIdahoLabradorMaineManitobaMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMontanaNevadaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew MexicoNew YorkNewfoundlandNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaOntarioOregonPrince Edward I.QuébecSaskatchewanUtahVermontWashingtonWisconsinWyomingYukon Føroyar
Native distribution of Sparganium angustifolium, 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
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
Aleutian Is. ALU
Arizona ARI
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Colorado COL
Connecticut CNT
Greenland GNL
Idaho IDA
Labrador LAB
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Massachusetts MAS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Montana MNT
Nevada NEV
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Mexico NWM
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Prince Edward I. PEI
Québec QUE
Saskatchewan SAS
Utah UTA
Vermont VER
Washington WAS
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Yukon YUK
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Baltic States BLT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
Føroyar FOR
France FRA
Germany GER
Great Britain GRB
Greece GRC
Iceland ICE
Ireland IRE
Italy ITA
Netherlands NET
North European Russia RUN
Northwest European Russia RUW
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Portugal POR
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Amur AMU ASIA-TEMPERATE
Buryatiya BRY
Chita CTA
Inner Mongolia CHI
Irkutsk IRK
Japan JAP
Kamchatka KAM
Khabarovsk KHA
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Kuril Is. KUR
Magadan MAG
Manchuria CHM
Primorye PRM
Sakhalin SAK
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
East Himalaya EHM

Not drawn on the map: Kuril Is., Great Britain, Aleutian Is.. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are 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 21 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.

  • Sparganium affine Schnizl.
  • Sparganium affine f. deminutum (Neuman) Asch. & Graebn.
  • Sparganium affine f. microcephalum (Neuman) Asch. & Graebn.
  • Sparganium affine subsp. borderei (Focke) P.Fourn.
  • Sparganium affine subsp. borderei (Focke) Rouy
  • Sparganium affine subsp. borderi (Focke) Weberb.
  • Sparganium affine subsp. boreale (Laest. ex Beurl.) K.Richt.
  • Sparganium affine subsp. vaginatum (Larss.) Nyman
  • Sparganium affine var. boreale (Laest. ex Beurl.) Nyman
  • Sparganium affine var. deminutum Neuman
  • Sparganium affine var. microcephalum Neuman
  • Sparganium borderi Focke
  • Sparganium boreale Laest. ex Beurl.
  • Sparganium emersum var. angustifolium (Michx.) Roy L.Taylor & MacBryde
  • Sparganium fluitans Fr.
  • Sparganium glomeratum var. natans Beurl.
  • Sparganium minimum var. borderi (Focke) Nyman
  • Sparganium natans var. angustifolium (Michx.) Pursh
  • Sparganium simplex Muhl.
  • Sparganium simplex var. angustifolium (Michx.) Torr.
  • Sparganium vaginatum Larss.

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.