204 MISC. PUBLICATION 200, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



indistinctly nerved; lemma a little longer than the glumes, glabrous, 

 indistinctly nerved, obtuse. % — Dry open woods and rocky hill- 

 sides, at low and medium altitudes, central and southern California, 

 especially in the Coast Ranges ; Baja California. A few 

 forms have been distinguished as varieties: Melica 

 imperfecta var. refracta Thurb. Lower branches 

 of panicle spreading or reflexed; blades pubescent. 

 Ql — Southern California. Melica imperfecta var. 

 flexuosa Boland. Like the preceding but blades 

 glabrous. 91 — Central and southern California. 

 Melica imperfecta var. minor Scribn. Culms less 

 than 30 cm tall; blades glabrous, 1 to 2 mm wide. 

 — Southern California. 



16. Melica frutescens Scribn. (Fig. 398.) Culms 

 0.75 to 2 m tall, sparingly branching, rather woody 

 below, not bulbous at base ; sheaths retrorsely scabrous; 

 blades rather firm, 2 to 4 mm wide, those of the inno- 

 vations, 1 to 2 mm wide, subin volute ; panicle silvery- 

 shining, narrow, rather dense, 10 to 30 cm long, the 

 branches short, appressed; spikelets short-pediceled, 

 12 to 15 mm long; glumes nearly as long as the spike- 

 let, prominently 5-nerved; lemmas subacute, faintly 

 7-nerved. % — Hills and canyons, at low and 

 medium altitudes, southern California (Inyo County 

 and southward) ; Baja 

 California. 



17. Melica californica 

 Scribn. (Fig. 399.) Culms 

 60 to 120 cm tall, the base 

 usually decumbent, often 

 more or less bulbous; 

 sheaths glabrous or pu- 

 bescent, the lower persist- 

 ent, brown and shredded ; 



blades 1 to 4 mm wide; panicle narrow, 

 rather dense, 10 to 20 cm long, tawny 

 to purplish, not silvery; spikelets short- 

 pediceled, 10 to 12 mm long (rarely 

 shorter) with 2 to 4 florets besides the 

 rudiment; glumes scaberulous, a little 

 shorter than the spikelets; lemmas 

 rather prominently 7-nerved, scaberu- 

 lous, subacute to obtuse, often emar- 

 ginate. % (M. b ulbosa Gey er; Thurb., 

 not M. bulbosa of this work.) — Moun- 

 tain meadows and rocky woods, at 

 low and medium altitudes, Oregon 

 (Malheur County) and California. 



Melica altissima L. Tall perennial; blades 15 to 20 cm long, 5 to 10 mm 

 wide; panicle narrow, dense, tawny to purple; spikelets about 12 mm long; 

 glumes and lemmas broad, papery. Ql — Sometimes cultivated for ornament. 

 Eurasia. 



Melica ciliata L. Panicle pale, narrow, condensed, silky. Ql — Occasion- 

 ally cultivated for ornament. Europe. 



Figure 396.— Melica 

 torreyana. Panicle, 

 X 1; floret, X o. 

 (Chase 5086, Calii.) 



Figure 397.— Melica imperfecta. Panicle, 

 X 1; spikelet, X 5. (Elmer 4710, Calif.) 



