Melica montezumae |
Melica stricta |
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Montezuma melic, Montezuma melicgrass |
nodding melica, rock melic, rock melicgrass, rock oniongrass |
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Habit | Plants cespitose, not rhizomatous. | Plants densely cespitose, not rhizomatous. | ||||
Culms | 14-100 cm, not forming corms; internodes smooth. |
9-85 cm, not forming corms; basal internodes often thickened; internodes smooth. |
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Sheaths | glabrous or scabrous; ligules 2.5-7 mm; blades 1.2-3 mm wide, abaxial surfaces glabrous, scabridulous, adaxial surfaces puberulent. |
scabridulous; ligules 2.5-5 mm; blades 1.5-5 mm wide, abaxial surfaces glabrous, scabridulous, adaxial surfaces sometimes strigose, sometimes glabrous or scabridulous. |
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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. |
3-30 cm; branches 0.5-10 cm, appressed, with 1-5 spikelets; pedicels sharply bent below the spikelets; disarticulation below the glumes. |
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Spikelets | 6-8 mm, with 1 bisexual floret. |
6-23 mm long, 5-13 mm wide, broadly V-shaped when mature, with 2-4 bisexual florets; rachilla internodes 1.8-2.1 mm. |
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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. |
6-16 mm long, 3.5-5 mm wide, 4-7-veined; upper glumes 6-18 mm long, 3-5 mm wide, 5-9-veined; lemmas 6-16 mm, glabrous, scabridulous, 5-9-veined, veins inconspicuous, apices acute, unawned; paleas 1/2 - 3/4 the length of the lemmas; anthers 1-3 mm; rudiments 2-7 mm, resembling the lower florets, acute to acuminate. |
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Caryopses | 4-5 mm. |
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2n | = 18. |
= 18. |
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Melica montezumae |
Melica stricta |
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Distribution |
TX |
CA; NV; OR; UT
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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 stricta grows from 1200-3350 m on rocky, often dry slopes, sometimes in alpine habitats. Its range extends from Oregon and California to Utah. Boyle (1945) recognized two varieties, more on their marked geographical separation than on their morphological divergence. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 24, p. 98. | FNA vol. 24, p. 97. | ||||
Parent taxa | ||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Name authority | Piper | Bol. | ||||
Web links |