Melica bulbosa |
Melica geyeri |
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bulbous oniongrass, onion grass, western onion grass |
Geyer's onion grass |
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Habit | Plants loosely cespitose, rhizomatous. | Plants cespitose, rhizomatous. | ||||
Culms | 29-100 cm, forming corms, corms almost sessile on the connecting rhizomes; internodes scabridulous above the nodes. |
65-200 cm, glabrous, forming corms, corms sessile on the rhizomes; internodes smooth. |
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Sheaths | usually scabridulous, sometimes sparsely pilose; ligules 2-6 mm; blades 1.5-5 mm wide, abaxial surfaces scabridulous, adaxial surfaces with hairs. |
scabridulous to scabrous, sometimes sparsely pilose, particularly at the throat and collar; ligules 0.8-5 mm; blades 2-8 mm wide, abaxial surfaces scabridulous, adaxial surfaces with hairs. |
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Panicles | 7-30 cm; branches 2-6.5 cm, appressed, usually straight, with 1-5 spikelets; pedicels straight; disarticulation above the glumes. |
10-30 cm; branches 3-11 cm, divergent to reflexed, flexuous, with 1-6 spikelets; pedicels straight; disarticulation above the glumes. |
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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. |
8-24 mm, with 4-7 bisexual florets, base of the distal florets exposed at anthesis; rachilla internodes 2-3 mm, not swollen when fresh, not wrinkled when dry. |
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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. |
usually less than 1/2 the length of the spikelets; lower glumes 3.5-7 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, 5-9-veined; upper glumes 5-11 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, 5-11-veined; lemmas 7.5-12.5 mm, glabrous or scabrous, 7-veined, veins inconspicuous, apices rounded to acute, sometimes toothed, unawned or awned, awns to 2 mm; paleas about as long as the lemmas; anthers 3, 2.5-4 mm; rudiments 3-7 mm, tapering, resembling the bisexual florets. |
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Caryopses | 3-4 mm. |
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2n | =18. |
=18. |
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Melica bulbosa |
Melica geyeri |
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Distribution |
CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; SD; TX; UT; WA; WY; BC; SK
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CA; MT; NV; OR; BC
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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 geyeri grows to 2000 m, primarily in dry, open woods, in Oregon and California. Its large size and open panicle distinguish M. geyeri from most other North American species of Melica. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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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 | ||||
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Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | M. bulbosa var. intonsa, M. bulbosa var. inflata, Bromelica bulbosa | |||||
Name authority | Geyer ex Porter & J.M. Coult. | Munro Munro | ||||
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