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Montezuma melic, Montezuma melicgrass

Torrey's melic, Torrey's melica, Torrey's melicgrass

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

14-100 cm, not forming corms;

internodes smooth.

30-100 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 sparsely pilose, sometimes pilose only at the throat, sometimes scabridulous;

ligules 1-5 mm;

blades 1-2.5 mm wide, sometimes pilose on both surfaces, sometimes 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.

6-25 cm;

branches 1-5 cm, usually appressed, occasionally divergent, with 5-37 spikelets;

pedicels straight;

disarticulation above the glumes.

Spikelets

6-8 mm, with 1 bisexual floret.

3.5-7 mm, with 1(2) bisexual florets.

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.

3-5 mm long, about 1 mm wide, 1-5-veined;

upper glumes 3.3-7 mm long, 1-2 mm wide, 3-5-veined;

lemmas 3.5-6 mm, scabridulous, sometimes hairy, distal hairs longer than those below, 7-veined, veins inconspicuous, apices rounded to emarginate, unawned or awned, awns 1-2 mm;

paleas slightly shorter than the lemmas;

anthers 1.5-2.5 mm;

rudiments 0.5-4 mm, clearly distinct from the bisexual florets, shorter than the terminal rachilla internode, truncate to acute.

2n

= 18.

=18.

Melica montezumae

Melica torreyana

Distribution
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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 torreyana grows from sea level to 1200 m, in thickets and woods in California. It is common throughout chaparral areas and coniferous forests but, on serpentine soils, grows only in shady locations. The shape and size of the rudiments make M. torreyana unique among the species found in North America. Boyle (1945) obtained vigorous, almost completely sterile hybrids between M. imperfecta and M. torreyana, but found no examples of natural hybrids.

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

Source FNA vol. 24, p. 98. FNA vol. 24, p. 90.
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. 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
M. altissima, M. aristata, M. bulbosa, 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
Name authority Piper Scribn.
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