GRASS FAMILY 145 



Spikelets broad; glumes broad and papery; sterile lemmas small and convolute around each 

 other, more or less hidden in the upper fertile lemmas. 

 Culms bulbous at base. 



Pedicels capillary, flexuous or rccnrvnl .5. M. spectabilis. 



Pedicels stouter, apprtssed. 



Panicle narrow ; branches short, erect 6. M. hella. 



Panicle open; branches spreading. 



Spikelets about 3 lines long 7. M. fugax. 



Spikelets about 6 lines long 8. M. infiata. 



Culms not distinctly bulbous at base (somewhat bulbous in M. bulbosa). 



Spikelets large, reflexed 9. M. stricta. 



Spikelets smaller, not reflexed. 



Fertile florets 3 or 4 in each spikelet ; spikelets 5 to 6 lines long. 



Spikelets silvery white; glumes about as long as spikelet; plant tall and somewhat 



woody 10. M. frutescens. 



Spikelets tawny or purplish; glumes shorter than spikelet; plant lower, herbaceous... 



11. M. bulbosa. 

 Fertile florets 1 or 2 in each spikelet; spikelets 2 to 3 lines long. 



Fertile lemmas pubescent 12. M. torreyana. 



Fertile lemmas glabrous 13. M. imperfecta. 



1. M, aristata Tliurb. Culms erect or decnnibent below, not bulbous at base, 

 smooth. 2 to 3 feet high; sheaths scabrous or pubescent; blades flat, more or 

 less pubescent; panicle narrow, the l)ranches short and appressed; glumes 

 narrow, 5-nerved, 5 to 6 lines long; lemmas 5-nerved, scabrous, bifid at apex, 

 awned, the awn 3 to 5 lines long. 



Dry woods, slopes and meadows. Washington, southward in the Sierra 

 Nevada to Fresno Co. 



Locs.— Siskiyou Co., Butler 811; Mt. Shasta, Hitchcock 2944; Grizzly Hill. Leiherg 5121; 

 Emigrant Gap, Jones in 1882; Lake Tahoe, Reed 4- Pendleton 1726; Mt. Tallae, Hitchcoclc 

 3163; Pioneer, Hansen 1849; Yosemite Valley, Hitchcock 3349; Northfork, Griffiths 4581, 

 6670; Pine Ridge, Hall 4- Chandler 314. 



Refs. — Melica aki.st.\ta Thurb.; Boland. Proc. Cal. Acad. 4: 103. 1870, type from Clark's 

 (now Wawona), Bolander 4861; Thurb. in Wats. Bot. Cal. 2; 305. 1880. 



2. M. harfordii Boland. Culms 2 to 4 feet high, decumbent below, smooth, 

 not bulbous at base : sheaths smooth ; blades scabrous, firm ; panicle narrow, 

 the branches appressed; glumes narrow, about 3 lines long, obtuse; lemmas 7- 

 nerved, pilose on lower part of margin, the apex emarginate, mucronate or 

 short-awned; awn less than 1 line long. 



Open dry woods and slopes. Coast Ranges from Jlonterey Co, to Castella and 

 north to British Columbia. 



Refs. — Melica hakfordii Boland. Proc. Cal. Acad. 4: 102. 1870, three specimens mentioned, 

 Bolander 53, 6464, and one from Bear Valley, Nevada Co., in 1869 ; Thurb. in "Wats. Bot. 

 Cal. 2: 305. 1880. 



3. M. subulata Scribn. Culms 2 to 4 feet high, bulbous at base; panicle 

 narrow, the branches appressed ; spikelets narrow, % to 1 inch long, loosely 

 several-flowered : glumes narrow, obscurely nerved, the second about 4 lines 

 long, shorter than tlie lower lemma; lemmas prominently 7-nerved, gradually 

 narrowed to ;iti acuiiiiuate point. Mwiiless. the keel and marginal nerves pilose- 

 ciliate. 



Meadows, banks and shady slopes, from Siskiyou Co. and Trinity Summit to 

 Lake Tnhoc ( Rrrd & Pendleton lfi86) and Mt. Tamalpais {Piper 6343) ; north 

 to Alaska and east to Wj-oming. 



Refs. — Melica subulata Scribn. Proc. Acad. Phila. 1885: 47. 1885. Bromus .<iuhulatus 

 Griseb. in Ledeb. Fl. Ross. 4: 358. 1853. Melica acuminata Boland. Proc. Cal. Acad. 4: 104. 



