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Melica stricta

ROCK MELIC


Higher Taxonomy
Family: Poaceae (Gramineae)View DescriptionDichotomous Key
Common Name: GRASS FAMILY
Habit: Annual to woody perennial herb; roots generally fibrous. Stem: generally round, hollow; nodes swollen, solid. Leaf: alternate, 2-ranked, generally linear, parallel-veined; sheath generally open; ligule membranous or hairy, at blade base. Inflorescence: various (of generally many spikelets). Spikelet: glumes generally 2; florets (lemma, palea, flower) 1--many; lemma generally membranous, sometimes glume-like; palea generally +- transparent, +- enclosed by lemma. Flower: generally bisexual, minute; perianth vestigial; stamens generally 3; stigmas generally 2, generally plumose. Fruit: grain, sometimes achene- or utricle-like.
Genera In Family: 650--900 genera; +- 10550 species: worldwide; greatest economic importance of any family (wheat, rice, maize, millet, sorghum, sugar cane, forage crops, ornamental, weeds; thatching, weaving, building materials). Note: Generally wind-pollinated. Achnatherum, Ampelodesmos, Hesperostipa, Nassella, Piptatherum, Piptochaetium, Ptilagrostis moved to Stipa; Elytrigia, Leymus, Pascopyrum, Pseudoroegneria, Taeniatherum to Elymus; Hierochloe to Anthoxanthum; Lolium, Vulpia to Festuca; Lycurus to Muhlenbergia; Monanthochloe to Distichlis; Pleuraphis to Hilaria; Rhynchelytrum to Melinis. The following taxa (in genera not included here), recorded in California from historical collections or reported in literature, are extirpated, lacking vouchers, or not considered naturalized: Acrachne racemosa (Roth) Ohwi, Allolepis texana (Vasey) Soderstr. & H.F. Decker, Amphibromus nervosus (Hook. f.) Baill., Axonopus affinis Chase, Axonopus fissifolius (Raddi) Kuhlm., Coix lacryma-jobi L., Cutandia memphitica (Spreng.) K. Richt., Dinebra retroflexa (Vahl) Panz., Eremochloa ciliaris (L.) Merr., Eustachys distichophylla (Lag.) Nees, Gaudinia fragilis (L.) P. Beauv., Miscanthus sinensis Andersson, Neyraudia arundinacea (L.) Henrard, Phyllostachys aurea Rivière & C. Rivière, Phyllostachys bambusoides Siebold & Zuccarini, Rottboellia cochinchinensis (Lour.) Clayton, Schedonnardus paniculatus (Nutt.) Branner & Coville, Schizachyrium cirratum (Hack.) Wooton & Standl., Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash, Themeda quadrivalvis (L.) Kuntze, Thysanolaena latifolia (Hornem.) Honda, Tribolium obliterum (Hemsl.) Renvoize, Zea mays L., Zizania palustris L. var. interior (Fassett) Dore, Zoysia japonica Steud. Paspalum pubiflorum E. Fourn., Paspalum quadrifarium Lam., are now reported for southern California (J Bot Res Inst Texas 4:761--770). See Glossary p. 30 for illustrations of general family characteristics.
eFlora Treatment Author: James P. Smith, Jr., except as noted
Scientific Editor: James P. Smith, Jr., J. Travis Columbus, Dieter H. Wilken.
Genus: MelicaView DescriptionDichotomous Key


Common Name: ONIONGRASS, MELIC
Habit: Perennial herb, generally cespitose, rhizomed or not, corms present or 0. Stem: generally erect. Leaf: +- basal; sheath closed to near top, glabrous to short-hairy; ligule thin, membranous, tip obtuse to truncate, generally jagged; blade flat, veins inconspicuous. Inflorescence: raceme- or panicle-like, generally appressed to main axis. Spikelet: glumes papery, translucent, back rounded, tip rounded, lower glume 3--5-veined, upper 1--3-veined; axis generally breaking above glumes; lower florets bisexual, 1--7, uppermost florets sterile, +- densely clustered at axis tip; lemma +- like glumes, prominently 5--7-veined, veins not converging, base occasionally red; palea < lemma. Chromosomes: n=9 in all California taxa.
Etymology: (Latin: honey, or old Italian name for plant with sweet sap)
eFlora Treatment Author: Susan J. Bainbridge
Reference: Barkworth 2007 FNANM 27:88--102
Melica stricta Bol.
NATIVE
Habit: Densely cespitose. Stem: 1--9 dm; corms 0. Leaf: ligule 2.5--5 mm; blade 1.5--5 mm wide. Inflorescence: 3--30 cm; branches very appressed; spikelets 1--2 per branch, pedicels sharply bent below spikelets. Spikelet: 6--23 mm, open, appearing V-shaped; glumes 6--18 mm, +- equal, spreading, distal 1/2 translucent, deciduous; bisexual florets 2--4; lemma 8--16 mm, glabrous or minutely scabrous, tip obtuse to acute, awn 0; palea 1/2--3/4 lemma; sterile cluster 2--7 mm, acute to acuminate, resembling lower florets.
Ecology: Open sites, conifer forest, rocky areas in alpine; Elevation: 1200--3350 m. Bioregional Distribution: KR, NCoRH, CaR, SNH, Teh, s SCoR, TR, Wrn, SNE, DMtns; Distribution Outside California: Oregon, Utah. Flowering Time: Jun--Aug
Synonyms: Melica stricta var. albicaulis Boyle; Melica stricta var. stricta
Unabridged Note: If recognized taxonomically, plants with straw-colored leaf sheaths, long paleae, anthers 2--3 mm in WTR assignable to Melica stricta var. albicaulis Boyle.
Jepson eFlora Author: Susan J. Bainbridge
Reference: Barkworth 2007 FNANM 27:88--102
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)

Previous taxon: Melica spectabilis
Next taxon: Melica subulata

Botanical illustration including Melica strictabotanical illustration including Melica stricta


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Citation for this treatment: Susan J. Bainbridge 2012, Melica stricta, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=33088, accessed on December 03, 2024.

Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on December 03, 2024.

Melica stricta
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©2003 Steve Matson
Melica stricta
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©2020 Barry Breckling
Melica stricta
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©2003 Steve Matson
Melica stricta
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©2009 Steve Matson
Melica stricta
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©2004 Steve Matson

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Geographic subdivisions for Melica stricta:
KR, NCoRH, CaR, SNH, Teh, s SCoR, TR, Wrn, SNE, DMtns
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map of distribution 1

(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurrence).






 

Data provided by the participants of the  Consortium of California Herbaria.

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CCH collections by month Flowering-Fruiting Monthly Counts

Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA.
Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).