Koeleria spicata(L.) Barberá, Quintanar, Soreng & P.M.Peterson

spike trisetum

WFO wfo-1200009173 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Koeleria spicata, photographed by J Straka
fig. a J Straka, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-08-27 / obs. 154256892
Koeleria spicata, photographed by Jens-Christian Svenning
fig. b Jens-Christian Svenning, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 146397458
Koeleria spicata, photographed by Jens-Christian Svenning
fig. c Jens-Christian Svenning, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 146177861
Koeleria spicata, photographed by Ellyne Geurts
fig. d Ellyne Geurts, CC0 1.0 / obs. 163014683
Koeleria spicata, photographed by Cecelia Alexander
fig. e Cecelia Alexander, CC0 1.0 / obs. 106806438
Koeleria spicata, photographed by Cecelia Alexander
fig. f Cecelia Alexander, CC0 1.0 / obs. 106806400
Koeleria spicata, photographed by Reuven Martin
fig. g Reuven Martin, CC0 1.0 / obs. 52363236
Koeleria spicata, photographed by Matt Lavin
fig. h Matt Lavin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 156800626

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 119 botanical countries

Regions where Koeleria spicata is native: Falkland Is., Afghanistan, Altay, Amur, Buryatiya, China North-Central, China South-Central, Chita, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Irkutsk, Japan, Kamchatka, Kazakhstan, Khabarovsk, Kirgizstan, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Kuril Is., Magadan, Manchuria, Mongolia, North Caucasus, Primorye, Qinghai, Sakhalin, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Tuva, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, Borneo, East Himalaya, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, West Himalaya, Antipodean Is., Chatham Is., New South Wales, New Zealand South, Victoria, Austria, East European Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, North European Russia, Norway, Spain, Svalbard, Sweden, Switzerland, Alaska, Alberta, Aleutian Is., Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Greenland, Idaho, Labrador, Maine, Manitoba, Massachusetts, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Newfoundland, North Carolina, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Québec, Rhode I., Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yukon, Argentina Northeast, Argentina South, Bolivia, Chile Central, Chile North, Chile South, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Peru Falkland Is.AfghanistanAltayAmurBuryatiyaChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChitaInner MongoliaIranIrkutskJapanKamchatkaKazakhstanKhabarovskKirgizstanKrasnoyarskMagadanManchuriaMongoliaNorth CaucasusPrimoryeQinghaiSakhalinTadzhikistanTaiwanTibetTranscaucasusTuvaUzbekistanWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaBorneoEast HimalayaNepalNew GuineaPakistanWest HimalayaNew South WalesNew Zealand SouthVictoriaAustriaEast European RussiaFinlandFranceGermanyIcelandItalyNorth European RussiaNorwaySpainSvalbardSwedenSwitzerlandAlaskaAlbertaArizonaBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutGreenlandIdahoLabradorMaineManitobaMassachusettsMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestMichiganMinnesotaMontanaNevadaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew MexicoNew YorkNewfoundlandNorth CarolinaNorthwest TerritoriesNova ScotiaNunavutOntarioOregonPennsylvaniaQuébecSaskatchewanSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinWyomingYukonArgentina NortheastArgentina SouthBoliviaChile CentralChile NorthChile SouthColombiaDominican RepublicEcuadorGuatemalaHaitiPeru KoreaAntipodean Is.Chatham Is.Rhode I.
Native distribution of Koeleria spicata, 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
Alaska ASK NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
Aleutian Is. ALU
Arizona ARI
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Colorado COL
Connecticut CNT
Greenland GNL
Idaho IDA
Labrador LAB
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Massachusetts MAS
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Montana MNT
Nevada NEV
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Mexico NWM
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
North Carolina NCA
Northwest Territories NWT
Nova Scotia NSC
Nunavut NUN
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Pennsylvania PEN
Québec QUE
Rhode I. RHO
Saskatchewan SAS
South Dakota SDA
Tennessee TEN
Texas TEX
Utah UTA
Vermont VER
Virginia VRG
Washington WAS
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Yukon YUK
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Altay ALT
Amur AMU
Buryatiya BRY
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
Chita CTA
Inner Mongolia CHI
Iran IRN
Irkutsk IRK
Japan JAP
Kamchatka KAM
Kazakhstan KAZ
Khabarovsk KHA
Kirgizstan KGZ
Korea KOR
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Kuril Is. KUR
Magadan MAG
Manchuria CHM
Mongolia MON
North Caucasus NCS
Primorye PRM
Qinghai CHQ
Sakhalin SAK
Tadzhikistan TZK
Taiwan TAI
Tibet CHT
Transcaucasus TCS
Tuva TVA
Uzbekistan UZB
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
Austria AUT EUROPE
East European Russia RUE
Finland FIN
France FRA
Germany GER
Iceland ICE
Italy ITA
North European Russia RUN
Norway NOR
Spain SPA
Svalbard SVA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina South AGS
Bolivia BOL
Chile Central CLC
Chile North CLN
Chile South CLS
Colombia CLM
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
Guatemala GUA
Haiti HAI
Peru PER
Borneo BOR ASIA-TROPICAL
East Himalaya EHM
Nepal NEP
New Guinea NWG
Pakistan PAK
West Himalaya WHM
Antipodean Is. ATP AUSTRALASIA
Chatham Is. CTM
New South Wales NSW
New Zealand South NZS
Victoria VIC
Falkland Is. FAL ANTARCTICA

Not drawn on the map: Kuril Is., Aleutian Is.. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are 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 49 in flower of 82 examined

Peak flowering in Jul. Each bar is the share of Koeleria spicata 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. 49 of 82 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. 9 months have fewer than 5 examined observations, so no proportion is drawn for them. 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 139 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.

  • Aira spicata L.
  • Aira subspicata L.
  • Avena airoides Koeler
  • Avena flavescens var. virescens Regel
  • Avena mollis Michx.
  • Avena phleoides d'Urv.
  • Avena spicata (L.) B.Fedtsch.
  • Avena squarrosa Schrank
  • Avena subspicata Clairv.
  • Avena tolucensis Kunth
  • Avena virescens (Regel) Regel
  • Briza toluccensis Kunth
  • Calamagrostis falklandiae Steud.
  • Calamagrostis subspicata Desv.
  • Deyeuxia subspicata Desv.
  • Graphephorum shearii (Scribn.) Rydb.
  • Koeleria aristata Loisel.
  • Koeleria canescens Torr. ex Trin.
  • Koeleria oreophila subsp. colombiana (Finot) Barberá, Quintanar, Soreng & P.M.Peterson
  • Koeleria spicata subsp. alaskana (Nash) Barberá, Quintanar, Soreng & P.M.Peterson
  • Koeleria spicata subsp. andina (Benth.) Barberá, Quintanar, Soreng & P.M.Peterson
  • Koeleria spicata subsp. dianthema (Louis-Marie) Barberá, Quintanar, Soreng & P.M.Peterson
  • Koeleria spicata subsp. geghamensis (Gabrieljan) Barberá, Quintanar, Soreng & P.M.Peterson
  • Koeleria spicata subsp. himalaica (Hultén) Barberá, Quintanar, Soreng & P.M.Peterson

and 115 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. USDA PLANTS Database. common name, checklist symbol TRSP2. public domain. 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.