Melilotus altissimusThuill.

tall melilottall yellow sweetclover

WFO wfo-0000185371 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Melilotus altissimus, photographed by Howard Williams
fig. a Howard Williams, CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2021-10-07 / obs. 162123477
Melilotus altissimus, photographed by Jon Mortin
fig. b Jon Mortin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 146460601
Melilotus altissimus, photographed by Robert H. Wardell
fig. c Robert H. Wardell, CC0 1.0 / obs. 90586513
Melilotus altissimus, photographed by Robert H. Wardell
fig. d Robert H. Wardell, CC0 1.0 / obs. 89881170
Melilotus altissimus, photographed by Tobias Schönberg
fig. e Tobias Schönberg, CC0 1.0 / obs. 89131846
Melilotus altissimus, photographed by Robert H. Wardell
fig. f Robert H. Wardell, CC0 1.0 / obs. 88836058
Melilotus altissimus, photographed by Robert H. Wardell
fig. g Robert H. Wardell, CC0 1.0 / obs. 84856274
Melilotus altissimus, photographed by Robert H. Wardell
fig. h Robert H. Wardell, CC0 1.0 / obs. 48847876

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 23 botanical countries

Regions where Melilotus altissimus is native: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Poland, Romania, South European Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine AlbaniaAustriaBelarusBelgiumCentral European RussiaCzechia-SlovakiaDenmarkEast European RussiaFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryItalyNetherlandsNorwayNW. Balkan Pen.PolandRomaniaSouth European RussiaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandUkraine
Native distribution of Melilotus altissimus, 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
Albania ALB EUROPE
Austria AUT
Belarus BLR
Belgium BGM
Central European Russia RUC
Czechia-Slovakia CZE
Denmark DEN
East European Russia RUE
France FRA
Germany GER
Greece GRC
Hungary HUN
Italy ITA
Netherlands NET
Norway NOR
NW. Balkan Pen. YUG
Poland POL
Romania ROM
South European Russia RUS
Spain SPA
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
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 14 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.

  • Medicago altissima (Thuill.) E.H.L.Krause
  • Melilotus adriaticus Borbas
  • Melilotus altissima Thuill.
  • Melilotus altissimus prol. macrorhizus Rouy
  • Melilotus altissimus var. macrorhizus (Rouy) P.Fourn.
  • Melilotus altissimus var. paluster W.D.J.Koch
  • Melilotus giganteus Wender.
  • Melilotus macrorrhizus (Waldst. & Kit.) Pers.
  • Sertula altissima (Thuill.) Kuntze
  • Sertula macrorhiza (Waldst. & Kit.) Kuntze
  • Trifolium altissimum (Thuill.) Loisel.
  • Trifolium macrorrhizum Waldst. & Kit.
  • Trifolium melilotus-altissimus C.C.Gmel.
  • Trigonella altissima (Thuill.) Coulot & Rabaute

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.