Sparganium fluctuans(Engelm.) B.L.Rob.

floating bur-reed

WFO wfo-0000553929 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Sparganium fluctuans, photographed by Mary E. Macaulay, P.Eng.
fig. a Mary E. Macaulay, P.Eng., CC BY 4.0 / 2021-07-26 / obs. 146467286
Sparganium fluctuans, photographed by Pierre Cartier
fig. b Pierre Cartier, CC0 1.0 / obs. 147030837
Sparganium fluctuans, photographed by Quinten Wiegersma
fig. c Quinten Wiegersma, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 97671304
Sparganium fluctuans, photographed by Louis Imbeau
fig. d Louis Imbeau, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 115490658
Sparganium fluctuans, photographed by Quinten Wiegersma
fig. e Quinten Wiegersma, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 86267568
Sparganium fluctuans, photographed by Reuven Martin
fig. f Reuven Martin, CC0 1.0 / obs. 50791575
Sparganium fluctuans, photographed by Allan Harris
fig. g Allan Harris, CC0 1.0 / obs. 23716553
Sparganium fluctuans, photographed by Rose Zappa
fig. h Rose Zappa, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 31325009

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 24 botanical countries

Regions where Sparganium fluctuans is native: Alberta, British Columbia, Connecticut, Idaho, Labrador, Maine, Manitoba, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Prince Edward I., Québec, Saskatchewan, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin AlbertaBritish ColumbiaConnecticutIdahoLabradorMaineManitobaMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew YorkNewfoundlandNova ScotiaOntarioPennsylvaniaPrince Edward I.QuébecSaskatchewanVermontWashingtonWisconsin
Native distribution of Sparganium fluctuans, 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
Alberta ABT NORTHERN AMERICA
British Columbia BRC
Connecticut CNT
Idaho IDA
Labrador LAB
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Massachusetts MAS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
Nova Scotia NSC
Ontario ONT
Pennsylvania PEN
Prince Edward I. PEI
Québec QUE
Saskatchewan SAS
Vermont VER
Washington WAS
Wisconsin WIS

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 2 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 androcladum var. fluctuans (Engelm.) Morong
  • Sparganium simplex var. fluctuans Engelm.

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.