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Porter melic, Porter's melic, Porter's melicgrass

awn melic, bearded melic grass, bearded oniongrass

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

55-100 cm, not forming corms;

internodes smooth, basal internodes not thickened.

40-120 cm, not forming corms;

internodes smooth.

Sheaths

often scabrous on the keels, otherwise smooth;

ligules 1-7 mm;

blades 2-5 mm wide, both surfaces glabrous, scabridulous.

glabrous, scabrous, sometimes sparsely pilose;

ligules 2.5-5 mm;

blades 5.5-15 cm long, 2-6 mm wide, often sparsely pilose on both surfaces.

Panicles

13-25 cm;

branches 1-9 cm, straight and appressed or flexible and ascending to strongly divergent, with 1-12 spikelets;

pedicels sharply bent below the spikelets;

disarticulation below the glumes.

10-26 cm;

branches 4-6 cm, appressed or strongly ascending, with 1-4 spikelets per branch;

pedicels not sharply bent;

disarticulation above the glumes.

Spikelets

8-16 mm long, 1.5-5 mm wide, parallel-sided when mature, with 2-5 bisexual florets;

rachilla internodes 1.9-2.1 mm.

11-21 mm, with (2)3-5 bisexual florets;

rachilla internodes 3.4-3.8 mm.

Glumes

green, pale, or purplish-tinged;

lower glumes 3.5-6 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, 3-5-veined;

upper glumes 5-8 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, 5-veined;

lemmas 6-10 mm, glabrous, chartaceous on the distal 1/3, 5-11-veined, veins conspicuous, apices rounded to acute, unawned;

paleas about 2/3 the length of the lemmas;

anthers 1-2.5 mm;

rudiments 1.8-5 mm, acute to acuminate, resembling the bisexual florets.

Lower glumes

9-11 mm long, 1.5-2.5 mm wide, 3-5-veined;

upper glumes 11-12 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, 5-7-veined;

lemmas 8-13 mm, with 0.3-0.6 mm hairs on the marginal veins, glabrous or with hairs to 0.1 mm elsewhere, 5-7-veined, veins prominent, apices bifid to emarginate, awned from the sinuses, awns 5-12 mm;

paleas about 3/4 the length of the lemmas;

anthers 2, 2-3 mm;

rudiments 2.5-6 mm, tapering, resembling the bisexual florets.

Caryopses

5-6 mm.

2n

= 18.

=18.

Melica porteri

Melica aristata

Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; KS; NM; TX; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; KY; NV; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Melica porteri grows on rocky slopes and in open woods, often near streams. It grows from Colorado and Arizona to central Texas and northern Mexico. Living plants are sometimes confused with Bouteloua curtipendula; the similarity is superficial.

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

Melica aristata grows from 1000-3000 m in open fir and pine woods. It is restricted to the Flora region, being native from Washington to southern California. It has also been found in Kentucky, possibly as an introduction from contaminated seed. Melica aristata is easily distinguished from most species of Melica by its conspicuous awns.

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

Key
1. Panicle branches flexible, ascending to strongly divergent; glumes purplish-tinged
var. laxa
1. Panicle branches straight, appressed; glumes green or pale
var. porteri
Source FNA vol. 24, p. 98. FNA vol. 24, p. 95.
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. mutica, M. nitens, M. smithii, M. spectabilis, M. stricta, M. subulata, M. torreyana
M. altissima, 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, M. torreyana
Subordinate taxa
M. porteri var. laxa, M. porteri var. porteri
Name authority Scribn. Thurb. ex Bol.
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