Burke: Melica aristata vs. Melica spectabilis

	Melica aristata	Melica spectabilis
	bearded melic grass	showy melic grass
Habit		Rhizomatous perennial, the culms bulbous-based and spaced 1-3 cm. apart on the rhizome.
Leaves		Sheaths closed, often open for up to 10 mm; ligules collar-like, 1-3 mm. long, glabrous, lacerate; blades mostly flat, glabrous to pubescent.
Flowers		Inflorescence a narrow panicle 7-15 cm. long, the branches erect; spikelets 9-15 mm. long, purplish, 3- to 8-flowered; rachilla joints 1.5-2 mm. long; first glume about 5 mm. long, 3-nerved, the second 6-7 mm. long, 5-nerved; lemmas 7- to 11-nerved, 6-8 mm. long, broad, blunt; paleas 2/3 as long as the lemmas; spikelets with 2-several perfect flowers, but the upper 2-4 flowers sterile, forming a spindle-like body about 2.5 mm. long.

	Melica aristata	Melica spectabilis
Flowering time	June-July	May-July
Habitat	Dry forest, rocky slopes, ridges, and ledges.	Usually in moist, loamy soil in meadows and open parks in mountain forests, but also dry to wet meadowlands and open forests to subalpine ridges.
Distribution	Known historically in Washington from the Lewis River in Skamania County, but now best considered extirpated in Washington; southern Washington to California. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to Alberta, Montana and Colorado. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	M. bulbosa, M. ciliata, M. fugax, M. harfordii, M. smithii, M. spectabilis, M. subulata	M. aristata, M. bulbosa, M. ciliata, M. fugax, M. harfordii, M. smithii, M. subulata
Web links	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Melica aristata

Melica spectabilis

bearded melic grass

showy melic grass

Habit

Rhizomatous perennial, the culms bulbous-based and spaced 1-3 cm. apart on the rhizome.

Leaves

Sheaths closed, often open for up to 10 mm;

ligules collar-like, 1-3 mm. long, glabrous, lacerate;

blades mostly flat, glabrous to pubescent.

Flowers

Inflorescence a narrow panicle 7-15 cm. long, the branches erect;

spikelets 9-15 mm. long, purplish, 3- to 8-flowered;

rachilla joints 1.5-2 mm. long; first glume about 5 mm. long, 3-nerved, the second 6-7 mm. long, 5-nerved;

lemmas 7- to 11-nerved, 6-8 mm. long, broad, blunt;

paleas 2/3 as long as the lemmas;

spikelets with 2-several perfect flowers, but the upper 2-4 flowers sterile, forming a spindle-like body about 2.5 mm. long.

Melica aristata

Melica spectabilis

Flowering time

June-July

May-July

Habitat

Dry forest, rocky slopes, ridges, and ledges.

Usually in moist, loamy soil in meadows and open parks in mountain forests, but also dry to wet meadowlands and open forests to subalpine ridges.

Distribution

Known historically in Washington from the Lewis River in Skamania County, but now best considered extirpated in Washington; southern Washington to California.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]