Sphenoclea zeylanicaGaertn.

chickenspike

WFO wfo-0000507981 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Sphenoclea zeylanica, photographed by 黃美滿
fig. a 黃美滿, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-09-26 / obs. 159807314
Sphenoclea zeylanica, photographed by Dan Johnson
fig. b Dan Johnson, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 102655387
Sphenoclea zeylanica, photographed by chiuluan
fig. c chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 91231940
Sphenoclea zeylanica, photographed by 葉子
fig. d 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 82611917
Sphenoclea zeylanica, photographed by S.MORE
fig. e S.MORE, CC0 1.0 / obs. 110769676
Sphenoclea zeylanica, photographed by Annika Lindqvist
fig. f Annika Lindqvist, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 23542772
Sphenoclea zeylanica, photographed by coenobita
fig. g coenobita, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 29810134
Sphenoclea zeylanica, photographed by kent ozment
fig. h kent ozment, CC0 1.0 / obs. 163276899

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 65 botanical countries

Regions where Sphenoclea zeylanica is native: Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Iran, Iraq, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Solomon Is., Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Thailand, Vietnam, Northern Territory BeninBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCentral African RepublicChadCongoDR CongoEgyptEswatiniEthiopiaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauIvory CoastKwaZulu-NatalMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweAfghanistanChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanIranIraqTadzhikistanTaiwanUzbekistanAssamBangladeshCambodiaIndiaJawaLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMyanmarNepalPakistanPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaSulawesiThailandVietnamNorthern Territory Andaman Is.
Native distribution of Sphenoclea zeylanica, 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
Benin BEN AFRICA
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Egypt EGY
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Ivory Coast IVO
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Cambodia CBD
India IND
Jawa JAW
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Iran IRN
Iraq IRQ
Tadzhikistan TZK
Taiwan TAI
Uzbekistan UZB
Northern Territory NTA AUSTRALASIA

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.

  • Gaertnera pangati Retz.
  • Gaertnera pongatii Retz.
  • Pongatium indicum Lam.
  • Pongatium spongiosum Blanco
  • Pongatium zeylanicum Kuntze
  • Rapinia herbacea Lour.
  • Reichelia palustris Blanco
  • Sphenoclea pongatia A.DC.

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.