The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

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

nodding melica, rock melic, rock melicgrass, rock oniongrass

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

55-100 cm, not forming corms;

internodes smooth, basal internodes not thickened.

9-85 cm, not forming corms;

basal internodes often thickened;

internodes smooth.

Sheaths

often scabrous on the keels, otherwise smooth;

ligules 1-7 mm;

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

scabridulous;

ligules 2.5-5 mm;

blades 1.5-5 mm wide, abaxial surfaces glabrous, scabridulous, adaxial surfaces sometimes strigose, sometimes glabrous or scabridulous.

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.

3-30 cm;

branches 0.5-10 cm, appressed, with 1-5 spikelets;

pedicels sharply bent below the spikelets;

disarticulation below 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.

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.

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

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.

Caryopses

4-5 mm.

2n

= 18.

= 18.

Melica porteri

Melica stricta

Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; KS; NM; TX; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV; OR; UT
[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 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.)

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
1. Paleas about 3/4 the length of the lemmas; anthers 2-3 mm long
var. albicaulis
1. Paleas about 1/2 the length of the lemmas; anthers 1-2 mm long
var. stricta
Source FNA vol. 24, p. 98. FNA vol. 24, p. 97.
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. 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. subulata, M. torreyana
Subordinate taxa
M. porteri var. laxa, M. porteri var. porteri
M. stricta var. albicaulis, M. stricta var. stricta
Name authority Scribn. Bol.
Web links