Melica smithii
Melica altissima
mélique de Smith, Smith oniongrass, Smith's melic, Smith's melic grass, Smith's oniongrass
Siberian melic, Siberian melicgrass, tall melic
60-160 cm, thickened basally, sometimes appearing cormous;
internodes sometimes pubescent below the nodes.
60-250 cm, not forming corms, scabrous below the panicles.
usually glabrous, sometimes pilose or retrorsely scabrous, particularly at the throat, veins often prominent;
ligules 2-4 mm;
blades 15-25 cm long, 5-12 mm wide, both surfaces usually scabridulous, glabrous, sometimes the adaxial surfaces with hairs.
retrorsely scabridulous;
ligules 3-5 mm;
blades to 20 cm long, 5-15 mm wide, flat, lax.
12-30 cm;
branches 7-11 cm, spreading to reflexed, with 4-7 spikelets, spikelets restricted to the distal portion, axils frequently with brownish pulvini;
pedicels straight;
disarticulation above the glumes.
10-20 cm long, 1-2(5) cm wide, cylindrical, pale or purplish;
branches about 3 cm, strongly ascending to appressed, often with 15+ spikelets;
pedicels sharply bent below the spikelets;
disarticulation below the glumes.
12-18 mm, with 3-5 bisexual florets;
rachilla internodes 2.5-3 mm.
7-11 mm, with 1-2(3) bisexual florets.
subequal in length and similar in shape, 7-10.5 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, glabrous, ovate-elliptic, obtuse to acute, ivory or purple, 7-veined;
lemmas 7-11 mm, glabrous, scabridulous, 9-13-veined, scarious, apices acute;
paleas about 2/3 the length of the lemmas;
rudiments 2.5-3 mm, pyriform.
4.5-7 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, 1-3-veined;
upper glumes 6.5-9 mm long, 1.2-1.8 mm wide, 3-5-veined;
lemmas 9.5-12 mm, glabrous or scabrous, 7-veined, apices bifid to emarginate, awned, awns 3-10 mm;
paleas about 2/3 the length of the lemmas;
anthers 1.3-2.5 mm;
rudiments 3.5-6 mm, tapering, resembling the bisexual florets.
about 3 mm.
= unknown.
= 18.
Melica smithii
Melica altissima
Melica smithii grows in cool, moist woods from British Columbia and Alberta south to Oregon and Wyoming and, as a disjunct, from the Great Lakes region to western Quebec. It often forms colonies in the eastern portion of its range. Its disjunct distribution pattern is unusual among North America's grasses.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Melica altissima is native to Eurasia. It is grown as an ornamental in North America and is reported to have escaped and become established in Oklahoma and Ontario. In its native region, it grows on the moist soils of shrubby thickets and forest edges, and on rocky slopes. Plants with dark purple glumes and lemmas can be called M. altissima var. atropurpurea Host.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites:
Flora NW, 
MI Flora, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
