Burke: Melica aristata vs. Melica subulata

	Melica aristata	Melica subulata
	bearded melic grass	Alaska oniongrass
Habit		Tufted perennial, the culms 3-8 dm. tall, bulbous-based and clustered on short, thick rhizomes.
Leaves		Sheaths closed nearly to the top, usually spreading-pubescent; ligules 1-5 mm. long, glabrous, often closed but usually split, somewhat lacerate; blades usually flat, 2-7 mm. broad.
Flowers		Inflorescence a narrow panicle 10-20 cm. long, the few branches ascending to erect; spikelets loosely 2- to 5-flowered, 12-20 mm. long; rachilla joints 2.5-3 mm. long; glumes pointed, the first 5-6.5 mm. long, the second 7.5-9 mm. long; lemmas acuminate but unawned, 9-13 mm. long; paleas at least 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 5-8 mm. long.

	Melica aristata	Melica subulata
Flowering time	June-July	May-July
Habitat	Dry forest, rocky slopes, ridges, and ledges.	Open slopes to thick, dry or moist woods, from near sea level to middle elevations in the mountains.
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 on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains and northern Great Plains. [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. spectabilis
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 subulata

bearded melic grass

Alaska oniongrass

Habit

Tufted perennial, the culms 3-8 dm. tall, bulbous-based and clustered on short, thick rhizomes.

Leaves

Sheaths closed nearly to the top, usually spreading-pubescent;

ligules 1-5 mm. long, glabrous, often closed but usually split, somewhat lacerate;

blades usually flat, 2-7 mm. broad.

Flowers

Inflorescence a narrow panicle 10-20 cm. long, the few branches ascending to erect;

spikelets loosely 2- to 5-flowered, 12-20 mm. long;

rachilla joints 2.5-3 mm. long;

glumes pointed, the first 5-6.5 mm. long, the second 7.5-9 mm. long;

lemmas acuminate but unawned, 9-13 mm. long;

paleas at least 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 5-8 mm. long.

Melica aristata

Melica subulata

Flowering time

June-July

May-July

Habitat

Dry forest, rocky slopes, ridges, and ledges.

Open slopes to thick, dry or moist woods, from near sea level to middle elevations in the mountains.

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]