Melica altissimaL.

Siberian melicgrass

WFO wfo-0000878995 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Melica altissima, photographed by Aleksei Baushev
fig. a Aleksei Baushev, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-08-23 / obs. 152751224
Melica altissima, photographed by Marina Potapova
fig. b Marina Potapova, CC0 1.0 / obs. 148252791
Melica altissima, photographed by Татьяна Горбушина
fig. c Татьяна Горбушина, CC0 1.0 / obs. 147448647
Melica altissima, photographed by Татьяна Горбушина
fig. d Татьяна Горбушина, CC0 1.0 / obs. 145403769
Melica altissima, photographed by Анна Митрошенкова
fig. e Анна Митрошенкова, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 91068495
Melica altissima, photographed by Alexander Dubynin
fig. f Alexander Dubynin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 106625463
Melica altissima, photographed by Анна Митрошенкова
fig. g Анна Митрошенкова, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 158988853
Melica altissima, photographed by Елена Радостева
fig. h Елена Радостева, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 150878986

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 25 botanical countries

Regions where Melica altissima is native: Altay, Buryatiya, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Krasnoyarsk, North Caucasus, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, Austria, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, East European Russia, Hungary, Krym, NW. Balkan Pen., Romania, South European Russia, Ukraine AltayBuryatiyaIranKazakhstanKirgizstanKrasnoyarskNorth CaucasusTadzhikistanTranscaucasusTürkiyeUzbekistanWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaAustriaBulgariaCentral European RussiaCzechia-SlovakiaEast European RussiaHungaryKrymNW. Balkan Pen.RomaniaSouth European RussiaUkraine
Native distribution of Melica altissima, 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
Altay ALT ASIA-TEMPERATE
Buryatiya BRY
Iran IRN
Kazakhstan KAZ
Kirgizstan KGZ
Krasnoyarsk KRA
North Caucasus NCS
Tadzhikistan TZK
Transcaucasus TCS
Türkiye TUR
Uzbekistan UZB
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
Austria AUT EUROPE
Bulgaria BUL
Central European Russia RUC
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
East European Russia RUE
Hungary HUN
Krym KRY
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Romania ROM
South European Russia RUS
Ukraine UKR

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 3 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.

  • Melica altissima var. atropurpurea Papp
  • Melica altissima var. interrupta Pers.
  • Melica sibirica Lam.

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 MEAL. 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.