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ciliate melic, hairy melic, hairy melicgrass, silky melic, silky-spike melic

Montezuma melic, Montezuma melicgrass

Habit Plants cespitose, sometimes shortly rhizomatous. Plants cespitose, not rhizomatous.
Culms

20-60(100) cm, not forming corms.

14-100 cm, not forming corms;

internodes smooth.

Sheaths

glabrous or shortly and sparsely pubescent;

ligules 1-4 mm;

blades 7-15 cm long, 1-4 mm wide, usually involute.

glabrous or scabrous;

ligules 2.5-7 mm;

blades 1.2-3 mm wide, abaxial surfaces glabrous, scabridulous, adaxial surfaces puberulent.

Panicles

4-8(25) cm, narrowly cylindrical, lax, pale;

branches 1.5-4 cm, appressed to ascending, with 3-12(15) spikelets;

pedicels sharply bent below the spikelets;

disarticulation below the glumes.

5-25 cm;

branches 1-5 cm, appressed to reflexed, straight, with 2-9 spikelets;

pedicels sharply bent below the spikelets;

disarticulation below the glumes.

Spikelets

6-8 mm, with 1 bisexual floret, sometimes purple-tinged.

6-8 mm, with 1 bisexual floret.

Lower glumes

4-6 mm long, 1.5-2.5 mm wide, ovate, 1-5-veined, acute;

upper glumes 6-8 mm long, about 1.5 mm wide, lanceolate, acute to acuminate;

lemmas 4-6.5 mm, lanceolate, 7-9-veined, papillose, margins and marginal veins pubescent, hairs 3.5-5 mm, not twisted;

rudiments 1-1.7 mm, ovoid, not resembling the bisexual florets.

5.5-8 mm long, 1.8-3 mm wide, 5-veined;

upper glumes 5-8 mm long, 0.7-1.5 mm wide, 3-5-veined;

lemmas 4.5-8 mm, 9-15-veined, veins prominent, tuberculate, proximal portion with flat, twisted hairs, distal portion glabrous, chartaceous, apices emarginate to acute, unawned;

paleas about 3/4 the length of the lemmas;

anthers 1.5-3 mm;

rudiments 2-3 mm, obovoid or obconic, clublike, not resembling the bisexual florets.

2n

=18, 36.

= 18.

Melica ciliata

Melica montezumae

Distribution
from FNA
WA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Melica ciliata is grown as an ornamental in North America and is not known to have escaped. It is native to Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern Asia, where it grows on damp to somewhat dry soils.

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

Melica montezumae grows primarily in shady locations in the mountains of western Texas and adjacent Mexico.

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

Source FNA vol. 24, p. 100. FNA vol. 24, p. 98.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Meliceae > Melica Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Meliceae > Melica
Sibling taxa
M. altissima, M. aristata, M. bulbosa, M. californica, 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. californica, M. ciliata, M. frutescens, M. fugax, M. geyeri, M. harfordii, M. imperfecta, M. mutica, M. nitens, M. porteri, M. smithii, M. spectabilis, M. stricta, M. subulata, M. torreyana
Name authority L. Piper
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