MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



201 



Figure 267.— Melica nitens. Plant, X 1; floret, X 5. (McDonald 15, 111.) 



tudes, Utah and Nevada to Oregon 

 (Steins Mountains), the Sierras, and 

 the mountains of southern California. 



11. Melica porteri Scribn. Porter 

 melic. (Fig. 265.) Culms 50 to 100 

 cm. tall, tufted; sheaths smooth or 

 scabrous; blades 2 to 5 mm. wide; 

 panicle green or tawny, narrow, 1- 

 sided, 15 to 20 cm. long, the branches 

 short, appressed, few-flowered; spike- 

 lets 10 to 15 mm. long, 4- or 5-flow- 

 ered, narrow, reflexed on capillary 

 pubescent pedicels, falling entire; 

 glumes half to two-thirds as long as 

 the spikelet; lemmas with 5 strong 

 nerves and several faint ones, sca- 

 berulous. % — Canyons, open 

 woods, and moist places, mostly at 

 2,000 to 3,000 m., Colorado and Texas 

 to Arizona; Mexico. 



Melica porteri var. laxa Boyle. 

 Panicles open, the branches 4 to 9 cm. 

 long, spreading to ascending, the 

 glumes often purplish. % — Rocky 

 slopes, Chisos Mountains, Tex., to 

 Arizona. Resembles M. nitens, but 

 blades narrower, spikelets 4- or 5- 

 flowered, and rudiment slender. 



12. Melica mutica Walt. Two- 

 flower melic. (Fig. 266.) Culms 60 

 to 100 cm. tall, erect, loosely tufted; 

 sheaths scabrous or somewhat pubes- 

 cent; blades flat, 2 to 5 mm. wide; 

 panicle 10 to 20 cm. long, nearly 

 simple, with 1 to few short, spreading, 



few-flowered branches below; spike- 

 lets broad, pale, 7 to 10 mm. long, 

 usually 2-flowered, the florets spread- 

 ing, pendulous on slender pedicels, 

 pubescent at the summit, the spike- 

 lets falling entire; glumes nearly as 

 long as the spikelet ; lemmas scaberu- 

 lous, strongly nerved, the two florets 

 about the same height; rudiment ob- 

 conic. 91 — Rich or rocky woods, 

 Maryland to Iowa, south to Florida 

 and Texas. 



13. Melica nitens (Scribn.) Nutt. 

 Three-flower melic. (Fig. 267.) 

 Resembling M . mutica; on the aver- 

 age culms taller; sheaths glabrous or 

 scabrous; blades 7 to 15 mm. wide; 

 panicle more compound with several 

 spreading branches; glumes shorter 

 than the usually 3-flowered narrower 

 spikelet; apex of the second floret a 

 little higher than that of the first; 

 lemmas acute; rudiment mostly 

 minute. % — Rocky woods, Penn- 

 sylvania to Iowa and Kansas, south 

 to Virginia, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and 

 Texas. 



14. Melica montezumae Piper. 

 (Fig. 268.) Culms 50 to 100 cm. tall, 

 erect, tufted; sheaths scaberulous; 

 ligule thin, 5 to 10 mm. long; blades 

 flat or subinvolute, 2 to 3 mm. wide; 

 panicle 10 to 20 cm. long, the branches 

 simple or nearly so, distant, the lower 

 5 to 8 cm. long, spreading to ascend- 



