MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



15. Melica torreyana Scribn. Tor- 

 key melic. (Fig. 269.) Culms 30 to 

 100 cm. tall, ascending from a loose 

 decumbent not bulbous base; blades 

 lax, 1 to 3 mm. wide; panicle narrow, 

 rather loose, 8 to 20 cm. long, the 

 branches more or less fascicled, ap- 

 pressed or ascending, the lower fas- 

 cicles distant; spikelets 4 to 6 mm. 

 long, with 1 or 2 perfect florets and a 

 minute obovoid, long-stiped rudi- 

 ment; glumes strongly nerved, as long 

 as the spikelet or nearly so; lemmas 

 pubescent, subacute. % — Thick- 

 ets and banks at low altitudes, central 

 California, especially in the bay 

 region. 



203 



Figure 270. — Melica imperfecta. Panicle, X 1; spike- 

 let, X 5. (Elmer 4710, Calif.) 



Figure 269. — Melica torreyana. Panicle, X 1 ; floret, 

 X 5. (Chase 5686, Calif.) 



16. Melica imperfecta Trin. Cali- 

 fornia melic (Fig. 270.) Resembling 

 M. torreyana; culms erect or ascend- 

 ing; the base sometimes decumbent or 

 stolonif erous ; panicle 5 to 30 cm. long, 

 the lower branches commonly ascend- 



ing to spreading; spikelets usually 

 with 1 perfect floret and an oblong, 

 short-stiped rudiment appressed to 

 the palea; glumes indistinctly nerved; 

 lemma a little longer than the glumes, 

 glabrous, indistinctly nerved, obtuse. 

 % — Dry open woods and rocky 

 hillsides, at low and medium altitudes, 

 central and southern California, es- 

 pecially in the Coast Ranges; Baja 

 California. 



A few forms have been distin- 

 guished as varieties. 



Melica imperfecta var. refracta 

 Thurb. Lower branches of panicle 

 spreading or reflexed; blades pubes- 

 cent. % — Southern California. 

 Melica imperfecta var. flexuosa 

 Boland. Like the preceding but blades 

 glabrous. % — Central and south- 

 ern California. Melica imperfecta 

 var. minor Scribn. Culms less than 30 

 cm. tall; blades glabrous, 1 to 2 mm. 

 wide. % — Southern California. 



17. Melica frutescens Scribn. (Fig. 

 271.) Culms 0.75 to 2 m. tall, spar- 

 ingly branching, rather woody below, 

 not bulbous at base; sheaths re- 

 trorsely scabrous; blades rather firm, 

 2 to 4 mm. wide, those of the innova- 



