| Melica nitens | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Pooideae |
| Genus: | Melica |
| Species: | M. nitens |
| Binomial name | |
| Melica nitens | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
List
| |
Melica nitens is a species of grass known by the common names threeflower melicgrass or three-flowered melic. [3] It is native to the central United States. [4] [1]
This perennial grass has short rhizomes and sometimes forms bunches. The stems grow up to 1.3 meters tall. The inflorescence is a branching panicle of spikelets. The spikelets normally have three perfect flowers in one sided panicles. [3] Despite its name, the grass may also have spikelets with two or four flowers each, [4] often two. [5] The rachilla is longer than the fertile florets, and terminates in a club. [3] The sterile florets are two empty lemmas. [3]
In the wild this plant grows in wooded areas, grasslands, streambanks, and roadsides. [5] In some areas it is considered "highly threatened by land-use conversion and habitat fragmentation, and to a lesser extent by forest management practices." [1] In other areas it is cultivated and sown as a forage grass. [5] In the US state of Minnesota, where it reaches its most northerly range in the extreme south eastern part of the state, it is listed as a threatened species; it was historically found in sandy soiled woodlands and prairie. [3] In Wisconsin it is listed as a Special Concern plant, and is found on steep slopes or rocky embankments around the states southern floodplains, mesic forests, and dry prairies. [6]
Sorghastrum nutans, commonly known as either Indiangrass, yellow Indiangrass, or golden feather grass, is a North American prairie grass found in the Central United States, the Eastern United States, and Canada, especially in the Great Plains and tallgrass prairies.
Sporobolus heterolepis, commonly known as prairie dropseed, is a species of prairie grass native to the tallgrass and mixed grass prairies of central North America from Texas to southern Canada. It is also found further east, to the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada, but is much less common beyond the Great Plains and is restricted to specialized habitats. It is found in 27 states and four Canadian provinces.
Melica is a genus of perennial grasses known generally as melic or melic grass. They are found in most temperate regions of the world.
Melica stricta is a species of grass known by the common name rock melic.
Melica ciliata, the hairy melic or silky spike melic, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, native to Europe, north Africa and temperate Asia. It has been introduced to South Australia.
Melica uniflora, commonly known as wood melick, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae that is native to much of Europe, and to parts of South West Asia and North Africa.
Melica mutica, the twoflower melicgrass, is a grass species in the family Poaceae that can be found in southeastern United States.
Melica montezumae, Montezuma melicgrass, is a grass species in the family Poaceae that can be found in Texas and Mexico.
Melica smithii is a species of grass that grows in the Canadian provinces Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario, and the US states Idaho, Michigan, Montana, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The species is named after Charles Eastwick Smith.
Melica porteri, known as Porter's melicgrass, is a species of grass that grows in the United States and Mexico. In the US it is found in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Iowa.
Melica frutescens, the woody melicgrass, is a species of grass found in Arizona and California in the United States and in Mexico.
Melica eligulata is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is native to Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey.
Melica racemosa is a species of grass that is native to South Africa and Lesotho.
Melica hitchcockii is a species of grass that can be found in Waterton Lakes Park of Alberta, Canada where it grows in a forest about 0.5 miles east of Cameron Lake at the elevation of 5,600 feet (1,700 m).
Melica grandiflora is a species of grass that can be found in Japan, Korea and China.
Melica minor is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is endemic to Caucasus.
Melica radula is a species of grass endemic to China. It grows on grassy mountain slopes and larch forests at 300–1,200 metres (980–3,940 ft) above sea level.
Melica penicillaris is a species of grass in the Poaceae family. It is endemic to Inner Anatolia, Turkey, where it grows on bushy hills, rocky slopes, limestone surfaces, and in gullies at 1,000–1,800 metres (3,300–5,900 ft) above sea level.
Melica rectiflora is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is native to Greece and Crete.
Glyceria melicaria, the melic mannagrass or northeastern mannagrass, is a perennial grass found in the eastern United States. Its specific epithet melicaria means "similar to Melica". Its diploid number is 40.
