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mélique de Smith, Smith oniongrass, Smith's melic, Smith's melic grass, Smith's oniongrass

Harford melic, Harford's melic, Harford's melic grass, Harford's oniongrass

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

60-160 cm, thickened basally, sometimes appearing cormous;

internodes sometimes pubescent below the nodes.

35-120 cm, not forming corms;

internodes smooth.

Sheaths

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.

glabrous or pilose, often most pilose at the throat and collar;

ligules 0.5-1.5 mm;

blades 1.5-4.5 mm wide, abaxial surfaces smooth, adaxial surfaces scabridulous, glabrous or puberulent.

Panicles

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.

6-25 cm;

branches 3-8 cm, appressed, with 2-6 spikelets;

pedicels straight;

disarticulation above the glumes.

Spikelets

12-18 mm, with 3-5 bisexual florets;

rachilla internodes 2.5-3 mm.

7-20 mm, with 2-6 bisexual florets;

rachilla internodes 2-2.4 mm.

Glumes

obtuse to subacute;

lower glumes 4-10 mm long, 1.5-2.5 mm wide, 3-5-veined;

upper glumes 5-11 mm long, 1.8-2.5 mm wide, 5-7-veined;

lemmas 6-16 mm, hairy, hairs to 0.75 mm on the back, 0.7-1.3 mm on the margins, 9-11-veined, veins inconspicuous, apices mucronate to rounded, usually awned, awns 0.5-3 mm, fragile;

paleas about 3/4 as long as to nearly equaling the length of the lemmas;

anthers 3, 2.2-4 mm;

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

Lower glumes

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.

Caryopses

about 5 mm.

2n

= unknown.

=18.

Melica smithii

Melica harfordii

Distribution
from FNA
ID; MI; MT; OR; SD; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; ON; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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 harfordii grows primarily in the Pacific coast ranges from Washington to California, as well as in the Sierra Nevada and a few other inland locations, usually on dry slopes or in dry, open woods. The awns in M. harfordii often escape attention because they do not always extend beyond the lemma.

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

Source FNA vol. 24, p. 95. 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. mutica, M. nitens, M. porteri, 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. imperfecta, M. montezumae, M. mutica, M. nitens, M. porteri, M. smithii, M. spectabilis, M. stricta, M. subulata, M. torreyana
Synonyms M. harfordii var. viridifolia, M. harfordii var. tenuis, M. harfordii var. minor
Name authority (Porter ex A. Gray) Vasey Bol.
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