Melica
By Bruce Homer-Smith
Melica
is the only California genus in the Melic
Tribe.
California’s
Melica grasses have distinctive
characters:
·
They’re
all native, perennial bunch grasses.
·
They
have no awns, except for Awned Melic (M. aristata)
·
Spikelets are cylindrical – not flattened. Glumes and florets have a rounded back, not keeled. Their tips are round, not pointed.
·
Glume
and floret edges are papery or translucent.
Here
are some examples:
Papery, oval glumes:
Photo by Keir Morse |
Glume backs are
rounded: Coast Range Melic (Melica imperfecta) Photo by Keir Morse |
The onion grass group have longer branches.
Purple Onion Grass (Melica spectabilis) Photo by Steve Matson |
Awned Melic is the
only Melica with significant awns. Awned Melic (Melica aristata) Photo by Steve Matson |
In
Purple Onion Grass, above, you can see 5 purple-tipped florets plus a pale
“rudiment” of sterile florets above.
This rudiment is found in all Melicas,
but often is not obvious.
Leaf
sheaths are closed (not overlapping).
California Melic (Melica californica)
Photo by Keir Morse
California
has 13 species of Melica. They can be broken into two groups:
·
Onion
Grasses have inflorescence branches that open up at maturity. They also have onion-like corms just below the ground.
·
Melic
Grasses have tight, but branched, inflorescences.
Corrections/Comments: bruce@PlantID.net Copyright: https://PlantID.net/Contributors.aspx |