Melica aristata
Encyclopedia
Melica aristata is a species of grass
known by the common names awned melic and bearded melicgrass.
to the Sierra Nevada and nearby ranges, where it grows in mountain forests and open hillsides.
perennial grass growing up to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) tall. The inflorescence
is a narrow series of cylindrical spikelets. Each spikelet has an awn up to 1.2 centimeters long, the characteristic which distinguishes it from the other melics
.
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
known by the common names awned melic and bearded melicgrass.
Distribution
It is native to the western United States from the Pacific NorthwestPacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
to the Sierra Nevada and nearby ranges, where it grows in mountain forests and open hillsides.
Description
Melica aristata is a rhizomatousRhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
perennial grass growing up to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) tall. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a narrow series of cylindrical spikelets. Each spikelet has an awn up to 1.2 centimeters long, the characteristic which distinguishes it from the other melics
Melica
Melica is a genus of perennial grasses known generally as melic or melic grass. They are found in most temperate regions of the world. They are clumping grasses with long, erect stems bearing spikelets of papery grass flowers...
.