| Melica racemosa | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Pooideae |
| Genus: | Melica |
| Species: | M. racemosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Melica racemosa Thunb. (1794) | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Melica racemosa is a species of grass that is native to South Africa and Lesotho. [1] [2]
It is perennial and caespitose with culms that are 30–60 centimetres (12–24 in) long. The leaf sheaths are tubular and have closed at one end. The leaf blades are erect, flat and 4–30 centimetres (1.6–11.8 in) long by 1.5–5 millimetres (0.059–0.197 in) wide with smooth surfaces. The membraneis eciliate. It has an open, linear, and secund panicle which is 7–20 centimetres (2.8–7.9 in) long. The main panicle branches are indistinct and almost racemose. [2]
The spikelets are cuneate, solitary, and have fertile spikelets that are pediceled. It has an acute apex with a chartaceous fertile lemma with hairs that are 2 mm (0.079 in) long. The spikelets carry 2–3 sterile florets which are cuneate, clumped, and 2 millimetres (0.079 in) long. Both the upper and lower glumes are elliptic, keelless, membranous, and have an acute apex. The lower glume is 4–8 millimetres (0.16–0.31 in) long while the upper one is 5–9 millimetres (0.20–0.35 in) long. Just like the lower glume, the fertile lemma is elliptic, keelless, and is 4–8 mm long. The sterile one though is glabrous. [2]
The flowers are fleshy, oblong, truncate, have 2 lodicules and grow together. They have 3 anthers with fruits that are caryopsis. The fruit is also have additional pericarp with a linear hilum. [2]
Melica racemosa grows on hills and mountain slopes. The flowers bloom from September to April. [3]
Melica brasiliana, is a grass species in the family Poaceae that is endemic to Brazil and southern South America.
Melica teneriffae, is a grass species in the family Poaceae that is endemic to the Canary Islands.
Melica frutescens, the woody melicgrass, is a species of grass found in Arizona and California in the United States and in Mexico.
Melica dendroides is a grass species in the family Poaceae that is endemic to southern part of Africa.
Melica persica is a species of grass that can be found in Central Asia, India, and in Gansu, Jilin, Sichuan provinces of China.
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 hyalina is a species of grass found in Brazil and southern South America.
Melica glabrescens is a species of grass found in Buenos Aires and Río Negro, Argentina.
Melica decipiens is a species of grass that can be found in the mountains of Cordoba and San Luis provinces of Argentina.
Melica lilloi is a species of grass found in Catamarca and Tucumán provinces of Argentina at 3,200–3,500 metres (10,500–11,500 ft) above sea level.
Melica kozlovii is a species of grass found on mountain slopes in Mongolia and China at 2,000–3,900 metres (6,600–12,800 ft) above sea level.
Melica minor is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is endemic to Caucasus.
Melica paulsenii is a species of grass endemic to Chile where it grows along the coastal cordillera at 50–700 metres (160–2,300 ft) above sea level.
Melica minuta is a species of grass that can be found in the Mediterranean Basin, from Portugal and Morocco to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Melica patagonica is a species of grass that is endemic to South America.
Melica parodiana is a species of grass found in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Uruguay.
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.
Melica riograndensis is a species of grass in the family Poaceae that is endemic to Brazil.