Tragus berteronianusSchult.

spiked bur grassspiked burr grass

WFO wfo-0000903944 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Tragus berteronianus, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. a Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2022-02-12 / obs. 180589322
Tragus berteronianus, photographed by douglaseustonbrown
fig. b douglaseustonbrown, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 62533148
Tragus berteronianus, photographed by Wilderness Safaris Botswana - Conservation Team
fig. c Wilderness Safaris Botswana - Conservation Team, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 64406510
Tragus berteronianus, photographed by Shaun Swanepoel
fig. d Shaun Swanepoel, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 31620935
Tragus berteronianus, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. e Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 18973773
Tragus berteronianus, photographed by Cecelia Alexander
fig. f Cecelia Alexander, CC0 1.0 / obs. 11683008
Tragus berteronianus, photographed by Cecelia Alexander
fig. g Cecelia Alexander, CC0 1.0 / obs. 11488535
Tragus berteronianus, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. h Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 15934984

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 43 botanical countries

Regions where Tragus berteronianus is native: Angola, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cape Provinces, Chad, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Free State, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Senegal, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Gulf States, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Pakistan AngolaBotswanaBurkinaBurundiCape ProvincesChadDjiboutiDR CongoEgyptEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateKenyaKwaZulu-NatalMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNorthern ProvincesRwandaSenegalSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaUgandaZambiaZimbabweAfghanistanChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastGulf StatesInner MongoliaIranOmanSaudi ArabiaYemenPakistan
Native distribution of Tragus berteronianus, 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
Angola ANG AFRICA
Botswana BOT
Burkina BKN
Burundi BUR
Cape Provinces CPP
Chad CHA
Djibouti DJI
DR Congo ZAI
Egypt EGY
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Madagascar MDG
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Northern Provinces TVL
Rwanda RWA
Senegal SEN
Socotra SOC
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Gulf States GST
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Oman OMA
Saudi Arabia SAU
Yemen YEM
Pakistan PAK ASIA-TROPICAL

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.

Also published as 12 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.

  • Lappago berteroniana Schult. ex Steud.
  • Lappago occidentalis (Nees) Hook.f.
  • Lappago phleoides Fig. & De Not.
  • Lappago racemosa var. erecta Kunth
  • Nazia occidentalis (Nees) Scribn.
  • Nazia racemosa var. berteronianus (Schult.) Hack.
  • Tragus alienus var. brevispinus Henrard
  • Tragus ciliatus Lepr. ex Kunth
  • Tragus occidentalis Nees
  • Tragus racemosus var. berteronianus (Schult.) Hack.
  • Tragus racemosus var. brevispicula Döll
  • Tragus tcheliensis Debeaux

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.