Trichodesma africanum(L.) Sm.

WFO wfo-0000410966 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Trichodesma africanum, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. a Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2017-08-24 / obs. 12549172
Trichodesma africanum, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. b Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 15226538
Trichodesma africanum, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. c Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 15342326
Trichodesma africanum, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. d Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 15085474
Trichodesma africanum, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. e Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 12580729
Trichodesma africanum, photographed by Karim Haddad
fig. f Karim Haddad, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 178915489
Trichodesma africanum, photographed by Denys Vynokurov
fig. g Denys Vynokurov, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 108153394
Trichodesma africanum, photographed by Caroline Voget
fig. h Caroline Voget, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 100234600

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 33 botanical countries

Regions where Trichodesma africanum is native: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan-South Sudan, Western Sahara, Afghanistan, Gulf States, Iran, Lebanon-Syria, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Yemen, India, Pakistan AlgeriaAngolaBeninCameroonCape ProvincesCentral African RepublicChadEgyptEritreaEthiopiaGhanaLibyaMaliMauritaniaMoroccoNamibiaNigerNigeriaSenegalSudan-South SudanWestern SaharaAfghanistanGulf StatesIranLebanon-SyriaOmanPalestineSaudi ArabiaSinaiYemenIndiaPakistan Cape Verde
Native distribution of Trichodesma africanum, 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
Benin BEN
Cameroon CMN
Cape Provinces CPP
Cape Verde CVI
Central African Republic CAF
Chad CHA
Egypt EGY
Eritrea ERI
Ethiopia ETH
Ghana GHA
Libya LBY
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Morocco MOR
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Senegal SEN
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Western Sahara WSA
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Gulf States GST
Iran IRN
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Oman OMA
Palestine PAL
Saudi Arabia SAU
Sinai SIN
Yemen YEM
India IND ASIA-TROPICAL
Pakistan PAK

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.

  • Boraginella africana Kuntze
  • Borago africana L.
  • Borago verrucosa Forssk.
  • Borraginoides aculeata Moench
  • Borraginoides africana Hiern
  • Friedrichsthalia schimperi Bunge
  • Pollichia africana (L.) Medik.
  • Trichodesma africanum (L.) Lehm.
  • Trichodesma fruticosum Maire
  • Trichodesma giganteum Quézel
  • Trichodesma gracile Batt. & Trab.

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. 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.