Melica L.

Melicgrass (en), Mélique (fr)

Genus

Angiosperms > Poales > Poaceae

Characteristics

Perennial, tufted or rhizomatous. Culms erect or ascending. Leaf sheaths with fused margins; leaf blades linear; ligule membranous, often cylindrical and then sometimes with lobe on side opposite blade. Panicle spreading or more often contracted, sometimes scanty or racemelike; pedicels drooping, pubescent below spikelet. Spikelets weakly laterally compressed, composed of 1–3 lower fertile florets and a few upper reduced florets, these often compressed into a terminal cluster of rudimentary scales, disarticulating below lowest floret, tardily between florets, or spikelet falling entire; glumes well developed, broadly lanceolate or ovate, often not keeled, membranous or papery, equal or lower glume shorter, 1–5-veined, apex obtuse or acute; floret callus small, glabrous, obtuse; lemmas broadly lanceolate or ovate, usually herbaceous, sometimes largely membranous, back rounded, smooth, scabrid or hairy; 5–9(–13)-veined, apex membranous, obtuse, acute, or shallowly 2-lobed; palea usually shorter than lemma, or as long as lemma in upper florets, keels scabrid or ciliolate. Stamens 3. x = 9.
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Shortly rhizomatous perennials, glabrous or scabrous. Leaves without obvious transverse veins; ligule an unfringed membrane; blade once-folded in bud. Inflorescence a loose or narrow panicle. Spikelets slightly laterally compressed, usually disarticulating below glumes, with 1–several proximal bisexual florets; rachilla extension with 1–3 sterile (often rudimentary) florets. Glumes about as long as or slightly longer than fertile lemmas, awnless or shortly awned, dorsally rounded, 5-nerved (in Australia); lower glume slightly shorter than upper glume. Callus short. Bisexual florets: lemma acute, awnless, dorsally rounded, 7–9-nerved; palea subequal to but thinner than lemma, slightly obtuse; stamens 3; ovary glabrous. Caryopsis free from both lemma and palea, longitudinally grooved; hilum long-linear; embryo small.
Spikelets 2–5-fld, disarticulating above or below the glumes; glumes large, membranous, 3–5-veined; lemmas rounded on the back, 5–7-veined, or with additional veins near the base, obtuse or acute, awned or awnless; uppermost 1–4 lemmas much smaller, sterile and often distinctly unlike the fertile ones; slender, tufted to rhizomatous grasses with closed sheaths, flat lvs, conspicuous ligules, and sparsely branched, few-fld panicles. 50+, mostly temp. regions.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
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Sexuality hermaphrodite
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Hardiness (USDA) 4-10

Usage

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Cultivation

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Images

Melica unspecified picture
Melica unspecified picture

Distribution

Melica world distribution map, present in Afghanistan, Åland Islands, Albania, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Belarus, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Switzerland, Chile, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Algeria, Ecuador, Spain, Finland, France, Micronesia (Federated States of), Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Lesotho, Morocco, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, Palau, Poland, Korea (Democratic People's Republic of), Portugal, Paraguay, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Sweden, Turks and Caicos Islands, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Taiwan, Province of China, Ukraine, Uruguay, United States of America, and Uzbekistan

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30001058-2
WFO ID wfo-4000023630
COL ID 8VZ8X
BDTFX ID 86781
INPN ID 194587
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Melica

Lower taxons

Melica altissima Melica altissima Melica amethystina Melica animarum Melica argentata Melica argyrea Melica aristata Melica bocquetii Melica bonariensis Melica brasiliana Melica brevicoronata Melica bulbosa Melica capillaris Melica cepacea Melica chilensis Melica cupanii Melica decipiens Melica eremophila Melica frutescens Melica geyeri Melica glabrescens Melica grandiflora Melica harfordii Melica hunzikeri Melica hyalina Melica imperfecta Melica longiflora Melica minor Melica mollis Melica montezumae Melica onoei Melica pappiana Melica patagonica Melica paulsenii Melica penicillaris Melica persica Melica picta Melica poecilantha Melica porteri Melica racemosa Melica radula Melica rectiflora Melica riograndensis Melica sarmentosa Melica scaberrima Melica scabra Melica schafkati Melica schuetzeana Melica serrana Melica smithii Melica spartinoides Melica spectabilis Melica stricta Melica stuckertii Melica subflava Melica subulata Melica tangutorum Melica tenuis Melica tibetica Melica torreyana Melica transsilvanica Melica x weinii Melica arzivencoi Melica fugax Melica kozlovii Melica lilloi Melica longiligulata Melica nitens Melica parodiana Melica przewalskyi Melica secunda Melica taylorii Melica yajiangensis Melica x aschersonii Melica x thuringiaca Melica californica Melica canariensis Melica commersonii Melica dendroides Melica eligulata Melica mutica Melica rigida Melica teneriffae Melica x haussknechtii Melica x tzvelevii Melica smirnovii Melica turczaninowiana Melica violacea Melica scabrosa Melica virgata Melica minuta Melica macra Melica uniflora Melica ciliata Melica nutans