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oniongrass, two-flower melic, twoflower melicgrass

California melic, California melicgrass

Habit Plants not or loosely cespitose, shortly rhizomatous. Plants densely cespitose, not rhizomatous.
Culms

45-100 cm, not forming corms;

internodes sometimes scabridulous above the nodes.

50-130 cm, not forming corms;

lower nodes strigose;

internodes usually smooth, sometimes puberulent below the nodes, lower 2-3 internodes usually swollen.

Sheaths

glabrous or pilose;

ligules 0.5-1.5 mm;

blades 1.8-6 mm wide, abaxial surfaces glabrous, scabridulous, adaxial surfaces with hairs.

glabrous or pilose;

ligules 1.5-4 mm;

blades 1.5-5 mm wide, strigose on both surfaces.

Panicles

4-25 cm;

branches 3.5-6 cm, appressed to spreading, straight, with 2-5 spikelets;

pedicels sharply bent below the spikelets;

disarticulation below the glumes.

4-30 cm;

branches 3-6 cm, appressed, straight, with 4-15 spikelets;

pedicels straight;

disarticulation above the glumes.

Spikelets

6-11 mm, with (1)2(4) bisexual florets, floret apices at about the same level;

rachilla internodes 1.5-1.7 mm.

5-15 mm, with 2-5 bisexual florets;

rachilla internodes 1.1-1.6 mm.

Lower glumes

4.5-8 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, 5-7-veined;

upper glumes 5-9 mm long, 2.5-3.5 mm wide, 5-6-veined;

lemmas 6-11 mm, glabrous or scabrous, indurate, 9-11-veined, veins prominent, apices rounded to acute, unawned;

paleas about 3/4 the length of the lemmas;

anthers 1-3 mm;

rudiments 2-3 mm, clublike, not resembling the bisexual florets, at a sharp angle to the rachilla.

3.5-12 mm long, 2.5-3 mm wide, 3-5-veined;

upper glumes 5-13 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, 5-7-veined;

lemmas 5-9 mm, glabrous, smooth to scabrous, 7-9-veined, veins inconspicuous, apices rounded to broadly acute, unawned;

paleas about 3/4 the length of the lemmas;

anthers 3, 1.8-3 mm;

rudiments 1.4-3 mm, clublike, not resembling the bisexual florets, truncate to acute.

2n

= 18.

= 18.

Melica mutica

Melica californica

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; DC; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MD; MS; NC; NJ; OK; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Melica mutica grows in moist or dry areas in open woods and thickets, from Iowa and Texas east to Maryland and Florida. It is unique among the North American species in having a clublike rudiment at a sharp angle to the rachilla.

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

Melica californica grows from sea level to 2100 m, in a wide range of habitats, from dry, rocky, exposed hillsides to moist woods. Its range extends from Oregon to California. It differs from M. bulbosa in its more obtuse spikelets and less strongly colored lemmas, as well as in not having corms.

Melica californica var. nevadensis Boyle supposedly differs from var. californica in having shorter spikelets (averaging 8, rather than 10, mm), more acute glumes and lemmas, blunter rudiments, and in being restricted to the lower Sierra Nevada; the two varieties intergrade, both morphologically and geographically.

Boyle (1945) obtained vigorous sterile hybrids from crosses between M. californica and M. imperfecta, but found no natural hybrids.

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

Source FNA vol. 24, p. 100. FNA vol. 24, p. 93.
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. montezumae, M. nitens, M. porteri, M. smithii, M. spectabilis, M. stricta, M. subulata, M. torreyana
M. altissima, M. aristata, M. bulbosa, 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, M. torreyana
Name authority Walter Scribn.
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