Spermacoce densiflora(DC.) Alain

bouquet false buttonweed

WFO wfo-0000312362 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 6 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 6 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Spermacoce densiflora, photographed by aacocucci
fig. a aacocucci, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-02-05 / obs. 112058965
Spermacoce densiflora, photographed by Oscar Alejandro Morales Juárez
fig. b Oscar Alejandro Morales Juárez, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 22252640
Spermacoce densiflora, photographed by Hugo Hulsberg
fig. c Hugo Hulsberg, CC0 1.0 / obs. 175950558
Spermacoce densiflora, photographed by Patricio Cowper Coles
fig. d Patricio Cowper Coles, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 192547064
Spermacoce densiflora, photographed by florsoteras
fig. e florsoteras, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 154323687
Spermacoce densiflora, photographed by Eduardo Luis Beltrocco
fig. f Eduardo Luis Beltrocco, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 190693739
Spermacoce densiflora, photographed by Patricio Cowper Coles
fig. g Patricio Cowper Coles, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 192547418
Spermacoce densiflora, photographed by florsoteras
fig. h florsoteras, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 154323695

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 30 botanical countries

Regions where Spermacoce densiflora is native: Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Windward Is. Mexico GulfMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestBelizeBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáParaguayPeruPuerto RicoTrinidad-TobagoVenezuela Leeward Is.Windward Is.
Native distribution of Spermacoce densiflora, 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
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Belize BLZ
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Venezuela VEN
Windward Is. WIN
Mexico Gulf MXG NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS

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 11 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.

  • Borreria arenicola Brandegee
  • Borreria densiflora DC.
  • Borreria densiflora var. latifolia E.L.Cabral & B.A.B.Martins
  • Borreria densiflora var. minima E.L.Cabral & Bacigalupo
  • Borreria densiflora var. perennis Standl.
  • Borreria densiflora var. pilosa Bacigalupo
  • Borreria radicosa Brandegee
  • Borreria spinosa var. latifolia (E.L.Cabral & B.A.B.Martins) E.L.Cabral
  • Borreria spinosa var. minima (E.L.Cabral & Bacigalupo) E.L.Cabral
  • Spermacoce arenicola (Brandegee) Govaerts
  • Spermacoce spinosa Sw.

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.