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bulbous oniongrass, onion grass, western onion grass

California melic, California melicgrass

Habit Plants loosely cespitose, rhizomatous. Plants densely cespitose, not rhizomatous.
Culms

29-100 cm, forming corms, corms almost sessile on the connecting rhizomes;

internodes scabridulous above the nodes.

50-130 cm, not forming corms;

lower nodes strigose;

internodes usually smooth, sometimes puberulent below the nodes, lower 2-3 internodes usually swollen.

Sheaths

usually scabridulous, sometimes sparsely pilose;

ligules 2-6 mm;

blades 1.5-5 mm wide, abaxial surfaces scabridulous, adaxial surfaces with hairs.

glabrous or pilose;

ligules 1.5-4 mm;

blades 1.5-5 mm wide, strigose on both surfaces.

Panicles

7-30 cm;

branches 2-6.5 cm, appressed, usually straight, with 1-5 spikelets;

pedicels straight;

disarticulation above the glumes.

4-30 cm;

branches 3-6 cm, appressed, straight, with 4-15 spikelets;

pedicels straight;

disarticulation above the glumes.

Spikelets

6-24 mm, with 4-7 bisexual florets, base of the distal florets concealed at anthesis;

rachilla internodes 1-2 mm, not swollen when fresh, not wrinkled when dry.

5-15 mm, with 2-5 bisexual florets;

rachilla internodes 1.1-1.6 mm.

Glumes

from (1/2)2/3 as long as to equaling the spikelets;

lower glumes 5.5-10.5 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, 3-5-veined;

upper glumes 6-14 mm long, 2.3-3.5 mm wide, 5-7-veined;

lemmas 6-12 mm, glabrous, smooth or scabrous, 7-11-veined, veins prominent, apices emarginate to acute, unawned;

paleas about 3/4 the length of the lemmas;

anthers 3, 1.5-4 mm;

rudiments 1.5-5 mm, truncate to tapering, sometimes resembling the bisexual florets in shape.

Lower glumes

3.5-12 mm long, 2.5-3 mm wide, 3-5-veined;

upper glumes 5-13 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, 5-7-veined;

lemmas 5-9 mm, glabrous, smooth to scabrous, 7-9-veined, veins inconspicuous, apices rounded to broadly acute, unawned;

paleas about 3/4 the length of the lemmas;

anthers 3, 1.8-3 mm;

rudiments 1.4-3 mm, clublike, not resembling the bisexual florets, truncate to acute.

2n

=18.

= 18.

Melica bulbosa

Melica californica

Distribution
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; SD; TX; UT; WA; WY; BC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Melica bulbosa grows from 1370-3400 m, mostly in open woods on dry, well-drained slopes and along streams. It is restricted to the western half of the Flora region. Two records from Texas, in Jeff Davis and Sutton counties, have not been verified.

Melica bulbosa differs from M. spectabilis in its sessile corm and longer glumes. In addition, in M. bulbosa the spikelets have purplish bands which appear to be concentrated towards the apices; in M. spectabilis the bands appear more regularly spaced. It differs from M. californica in its more narrowly acute spikelets, more strongly colored lemmas, and lack of corms, and from M. fugax in not having swollen rachilla internodes.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Melica californica grows from sea level to 2100 m, in a wide range of habitats, from dry, rocky, exposed hillsides to moist woods. Its range extends from Oregon to California. It differs from M. bulbosa in its more obtuse spikelets and less strongly colored lemmas, as well as in not having corms.

Melica californica var. nevadensis Boyle supposedly differs from var. californica in having shorter spikelets (averaging 8, rather than 10, mm), more acute glumes and lemmas, blunter rudiments, and in being restricted to the lower Sierra Nevada; the two varieties intergrade, both morphologically and geographically.

Boyle (1945) obtained vigorous sterile hybrids from crosses between M. californica and M. imperfecta, but found no natural hybrids.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 24, p. 91. FNA vol. 24, p. 93.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Meliceae > Melica Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Meliceae > Melica
Sibling taxa
M. altissima, M. aristata, M. californica, M. ciliata, M. frutescens, M. fugax, M. geyeri, M. harfordii, M. imperfecta, M. montezumae, M. mutica, M. nitens, M. porteri, M. smithii, M. spectabilis, M. stricta, M. subulata, M. torreyana
M. altissima, M. aristata, M. bulbosa, M. ciliata, M. frutescens, M. fugax, M. geyeri, M. harfordii, M. imperfecta, M. montezumae, M. mutica, M. nitens, M. porteri, M. smithii, M. spectabilis, M. stricta, M. subulata, M. torreyana
Synonyms M. bulbosa var. intonsa, M. bulbosa var. inflata, Bromelica bulbosa
Name authority Geyer ex Porter & J.M. Coult. Scribn.
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