Melica montezumae |
Melica nitens |
|
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Montezuma melic, Montezuma melicgrass |
shining oniongrass, three-flower melic, threeflower melicgrass |
|
Habit | Plants cespitose, not rhizomatous. | Plants not or loosely cespitose, shortly rhizomatous. |
Culms | 14-100 cm, not forming corms; internodes smooth. |
55-130 cm, not forming corms; internodes smooth. |
Sheaths | glabrous or scabrous; ligules 2.5-7 mm; blades 1.2-3 mm wide, abaxial surfaces glabrous, scabridulous, adaxial surfaces puberulent. |
glabrous or scabridulous; ligules 1-6.5 mm; blades 3.5-11 mm wide, flat, abaxial surfaces smooth or scabridulous, adaxial surfaces scabridulous. |
Panicles | 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. |
9-26 cm; branches 3.5-6 cm, often divergent to reflexed, straight, with 5-20 spikelets; pedicels sharply bent and hairy below the spikelets; disarticulation below the glumes. |
Spikelets | 6-8 mm, with 1 bisexual floret. |
8-12 mm, with 2-3(4) bisexual florets, apices of the lowest 2 florets not at the same level; rachilla internodes 2.3-2.4 mm. |
Glumes | unequal; lower glumes 5-9 mm long, 3.5-4.5 mm wide, more ovate than the upper glumes, 3-9-veined; upper glumes 6-11 mm long, 2.5-3.5 mm wide, 3-7-veined; lemmas 6.5-11.5 mm, glabrous or scabrous, somewhat indurate, with 9+ veins, veins prominent, apices rounded, unawned; paleas about 3/4 the length of the lemmas; anthers 1.7-3.2 mm; rudiments 2-3 mm, clublike, not resembling the bisexual florets, in a straight line with the rachilla. |
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Lower glumes | 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. |
= 18. |
Melica montezumae |
Melica nitens |
|
Distribution |
TX |
AL; AR; AZ; CO; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MD; MN; MO; NC; NE; NM; OH; OK; PA; TN; TX; VA; WI; WV
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Discussion | 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.) |
Melica nitens grows in dry to moist woodlands, often in rocky areas with rich soil. It grows primarily from Minnesota to Pennsylvania and southwest to Texas. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 24, p. 98. | FNA vol. 24, p. 100. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Piper | (Scribn.) Nutt. ex Piper |
Web links |