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

oniongrass, two-flower melic, twoflower melicgrass

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

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

internodes sometimes pubescent below the nodes.

45-100 cm, not forming corms;

internodes sometimes scabridulous above the nodes.

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;

ligules 0.5-1.5 mm;

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

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.

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.

Spikelets

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

rachilla internodes 2.5-3 mm.

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

rachilla internodes 1.5-1.7 mm.

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.

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.

2n

= unknown.

= 18.

Melica smithii

Melica mutica

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

Source FNA vol. 24, p. 95. FNA vol. 24, p. 100.
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. harfordii, M. imperfecta, M. montezumae, M. nitens, M. porteri, M. smithii, M. spectabilis, M. stricta, M. subulata, M. torreyana
Name authority (Porter ex A. Gray) Vasey Walter
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