Themeda triandraForssk.

Red grasskangaroo grass

WFO wfo-0000903590 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Themeda triandra, photographed by Greg Tasney
fig. a Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2022-06-13 / obs. 205975549
Themeda triandra, photographed by Mahomed Desai
fig. b Mahomed Desai, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 205729219
Themeda triandra, photographed by Greg Tasney
fig. c Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 203454163
Themeda triandra, photographed by Greg Tasney
fig. d Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 202364643
Themeda triandra, photographed by Greg Tasney
fig. e Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 201172754
Themeda triandra, photographed by Greg Tasney
fig. f Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 200237814
Themeda triandra, photographed by Greg Tasney
fig. g Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 199569082
Themeda triandra, photographed by Greg Tasney
fig. h Greg Tasney, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 199069098

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 85 botanical countries

Regions where Themeda triandra is native: Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Caprivi Strip, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Free State, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Senegal, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Inner Mongolia, Japan, Korea, Lebanon-Syria, Nansei-shoto, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Tibet, Türkiye, Yemen, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia AlgeriaAngolaBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesCaprivi StripCentral African RepublicChadDjiboutiDR CongoEgyptEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateGhanaGuineaIvory CoastKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLesothoMadagascarMalawiMaliMoroccoMozambiqueNamibiaNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTunisiaUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanInner MongoliaJapanLebanon-SyriaSaudi ArabiaTaiwanTibetTürkiyeYemenAssamBangladeshEast HimalayaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNepalNew GuineaPakistanPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamWest HimalayaNew South WalesNorthern TerritoryQueenslandSouth AustraliaTasmaniaVictoriaWestern Australia Cape VerdeKoreaNansei-shotoAndaman Is.Nicobar Is.
Native distribution of Themeda triandra, 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
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Angola ANG
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Cape Verde CVI
Caprivi Strip CPV
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Djibouti DJI
DR Congo ZAI
Egypt EGY
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Lesotho LES
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Morocco MOR
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Socotra SOC
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Tunisia TUN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Nicobar Is. NCB
Pakistan PAK
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
China North-Central CHN ASIA-TEMPERATE
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH
Inner Mongolia CHI
Japan JAP
Korea KOR
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Nansei-shoto NNS
Saudi Arabia SAU
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Türkiye TUR
Yemen YEM
New South Wales NSW AUSTRALASIA
Northern Territory NTA
Queensland QLD
South Australia SOA
Tasmania TAS
Victoria VIC
Western Australia WAU

Not drawn on the map: Socotra. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is 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.

Flowering 215 in flower of 506 examined

Peak flowering in Nov. Each bar is the share of Themeda triandra observations in which someone actually recorded the reproductive state and found the plant in flower, not the raw number of flowering records. That distinction matters: people observe plants far more in spring than in winter, so a bare count of flowering records partly measures when people go outside. Dividing by the number examined removes that. 215 of 506 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. This is still a global aggregate and not a forecast for your garden: the same species flowers on different dates in different hemispheres. Where a species has fewer than 30 flowering records we do not draw this chart at all. Computed from 10.15468/dl.cgje2x.

Also published as 76 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.

  • Andropogon ciliatus Thunb.
  • Andropogon tenuipedicellatus Steud.
  • Anthistiria argentea Nees
  • Anthistiria arguens var. japonica (Willd.) Andersson
  • Anthistiria australis R.Br.
  • Anthistiria barbata Desf.
  • Anthistiria brachyantha Boiss.
  • Anthistiria caespitosa Andersson
  • Anthistiria ciliata Cav. ex Spreng.
  • Anthistiria ciliata var. brachyantha (Boiss.) Boiss.
  • Anthistiria ciliata var. burchellii (Hack.) Hack.
  • Anthistiria ciliata var. mollicoma Nees
  • Anthistiria ciliata var. syriaca (Boiss.) Boiss.
  • Anthistiria cuspidata Andersson
  • Anthistiria depauperata Andersson
  • Anthistiria desfontainii Kunth
  • Anthistiria forskaolii Kunth
  • Anthistiria glauca Desf.
  • Anthistiria imberbis Retz.
  • Anthistiria imberbis var. argentea (Nees) Stapf
  • Anthistiria imberbis var. burchellii (Hack.) Stapf
  • Anthistiria imberbis var. mollicoma (Nees) Stapf
  • Anthistiria imberbis var. roylei Hook.f.
  • Anthistiria imberbis var. vulgaris (Hack.) Hook.f.

and 52 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.