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GRASSES OF THE COLUMBIA BASIN OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Heather Stewart, Richard Hebda Major Groups of Grasses Table of Contents Glossary Melica Oniongrass The name Melica comes directly from the Italian name for a kind of sorghum. The genus Melica resembles Bromus in the overall appearance of the flowerhead, which may vary from a form with open spreading branches to a tight, slightly closed spike. To confuse things even more, Melica smithii has two small teeth at the tip of the lemma where the awn meets the lemma, which is a standard character used to differentiate Bromus from other genera. The two genera differ in that Melica has spikelets with two to four sterile flowers above the fertile flowers and these are almost like scales. This gives the spikelet a more pointed or sometimes a more open appearance because the lemma is not full. The glumes are shorter than the first lemma and are thin, papery and transparent. The sheath is closed to near where it meets the blade. The ligules are membranelike and often closed in the front. In addition, there are no auricles and the callus is not bearded. This genus has a few species that are bulbous at the base of the culm. Important features to look for are the bulbous culm and whether or not awns are present. Three of the four species of Melica found in the Columbia Basin region are Blue Listed by the B.C. Conservation Database Centre in Douglas et al. (1998). In some cases this rarity is the result of the type of specialized habitat requirements of the species. In other cases, the species are at the limit of the range. In the case of Melica smithii most of its range lies east of the Rockies. Melica spectabilis is at the northern limit of its range, which extends east of the Cascades to the south and includes southwestern Alberta. Heights of Melica species. Melica Adapted from Douglas et al. 1994 1a. Lemmas awned.......................................................................................................Melica smithii 1b. Lemmas unawned or awns are inconspicuous.........................................................................2 2a. Lemmas tapering with a long sharp tip; lemmas hairy along the veins....................................................................................................................Melica subulata 2b. Lemmas rounded; lemmas smooth or appear rough................................................................3 3a. Glumes less than half the length of the spikelets; corms not clustered, but remain attached to the rhizome.................................................Melica spectabilis 3b.Glumes more than half the length of the spikelets; corms clustered, not attached to the rhizome...................................................................Melica bulbosa   Melica bulbosa Geyer ex Porter & Coult. Oniongrass Plant: Melica bulbosa is a native species that grows to 30-100 cm tall. It is a strongly tufted perennial with bulbous-based stems clustered on short rhizomes. The flowerhead is long and narrow with short, thick branches that are upward pointing and pressed close to the stem axis Leaves and Stem: The sheaths are closed almost their full length and feel rough because they are covered in tiny, stiff projections. The ligules are 3-4 mm long, membranelike, open in the front and have ragged edges. Rough, flat leaves are somewhat inrolled and 2-4 mm wide. Flowerhead and Flowers: The flowerhead is narrow, 10-16 cm long and has thick branches that are short and pressed close to the stem axis. The spikelets range from one to several per branch and they overlap. The glumes are narrow, blunt and papery and are slightly shorter or equal to the first flower. The rough lemmas have stiff hairs or in some cases bumps. The sterile upper flowers consist only of empty lemmas. There are no awns. Habitat: Oniongrass grows on moist to dry slopes in the steppe and alpine zones. It is a Blue-listed species (Douglas et al., 1998) and occurs in the Columbia Basin region in the Toby Creek area. Similar Species: There are three species of Melica with bulbous stem bases in the Columbia Basin region: Purple Oniongrass (M. spectabilis), Alaska Oniongrass (M. subulata) and Oniongrass. Purple Oniongrass has bulbous bases that are spread out along the rhizome as single stems, and the bulb appears to be attached by a short stalk that may sometimes be hidden in the bulb scales. Alaska Oniongrass has tightly clustered bulbs. Oniongrass has bulbous bases that are attached in a clump directly to the rhizome. Melica smithii (Porter) Vasey Smith's Melic Plant: Melica smithii is a native species that grows to 60-130 cm tall. It is a tufted perennial without bulbous bases on the stem. The open flowerhead spreads or droops. Leaves and Stem: The closed sheaths are smooth or slightly hairy. The ligules are 3-9 mm high, blunt and have a coarsely ragged edge. There are no auricles, and the collar is smooth to short hairy. The rough-feeling flat leaf blades are lax, 5-10 mm wide and have widely spaced veins. Flowerhead and Flowers: The open flowerhead has long, drooping branches and spikelets at the ends of the branches. The narrow, pointed glumes are papery and shorter than the first lemma . The finely hairy lemmas have two teeth at the tip, and a 3-10-mm-long awn. Habitat: Smith's Melic grows in moist forests in the lowland and montane zones. It is a Blue Listed species on the B.C. Conservation Data Centre's database. It is found in the Columbia Basin region at Yoho National Park and Mount Langemark in the Flathead area. Similar Species: Smith's Melic resembles Bromus because it has long awns, a spreading flowerhead and two teeth at the tip of the lemma. The occurrence of empty lemmas that enfold one another, absence of auricles and sheaths that are closed for their full length help identify Melica. Bromus species have open sheaths (at least part of the way) and auricles. If there are sterile lemmas, they do not enfold one another. Melica spectabilis Scribn. Purple Oniongrass Plant: Melica spectabilis is a native species that grows to 30-80 cm tall. It is a perennial with rhizomes and bulbous bases on the stems. The narrow flowerhead has upward-pointing branches. Leaves and Stem: The rough sheath ranges from open for 3-10 mm to completely closed. Stem bases are bulbous, not clustered at one place but spaced along the rhizome. The ligules are 1-3 mm high, collarlike, open in the front and ragged along the upper edge. The leaf blades are 2-4 mm wide and mostly flat, but sometimes slightly inrolled. There are no auricles. Flowerhead and Flowers: The narrow flowerhead is 7-15 mm long, and has slender branches pressed close to the stem axis. The somewhat compressed spikelets are often purplish. The glumes are papery or rough, unequal and rounded across the back. They are half the size of the first lemma. Blunt lemmas have a rounded back, marked nerves and a rough texture. Habitat: Purple Oniongrass grows in open moist forests and in wet meadows in montane to subalpine zones. In the Columbia Basin region it occurs at Mount Langemark, Wall Lake, Mount Morrissey, Procter Lake and in the Monashee Mountains. Similar Species: Purple Oniongrass is similar to Oniongrass, except that Purple Oniongrass has glumes less than 1/2 the length of the spikelets, and a bulbous base of the stems that are not clustered (they may have short stemlike attachments). The stem bases of Oniongrass are clustered and attached directly to the rhizome. Melica subulata (Griseb.) Scribn. Alaska Oniongrass Plant: Melica subulata is a native species that grows to 30-100 cm tall. It is a tuft-forming perennial with short, thick rhizomes. Clustered stems bases are bulbous and look like bunching onions. The flowerhead is open and loose. Leaves and Stem: Sheaths are closed nearly to the top. The long, flat, thin leaf blades are 3-7 mm wide and are distributed along the stem. The upper surface is hairy. There is no auricle. The ligule is 1-5 mm long, hairless and jagged or split along the edge. Flowerhead and Flowers: The open but narrow, sometimes droopy flowerhead bears mostly single, narrow spikelets that are 12-20 mm long on the ends of thin branches. Two, unequal, relatively large glumes enclose two to five flowers. There are no awns on the glumes or the lemmas. The flowers extend well beyond the ends of the glumes. The lemmas are long and sharply pointed, but have no awns. The lower lemma margins and nerves are hairy. Habitat: Alaska Oniongrass grows widely in dry to moist meadows and slopes, woods, stream banks and floodplains. This is a species of moist woodland margins or slightly shady sites in our region, rather than open, dry sites. In the Columbia Basin, Alaska Oniongrass grows along the Pend d'Oreille River, in Yoho National Park and at Rossland. Similar Species: The long, pointed lemmas with hair over the raised veins distinguish this species from the other bulbous-based melics.

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