Melica spectabilis
Encyclopedia
Melica spectabilis is a species of grass
known by the common name Purple oniongrass.
to northern California
to the Rocky Mountains
, where it grows in moist meadows, forests, and other mountainous habitat.
s and stalked, onionlike corm
s. The inflorescence
is a narrow series of spikelets which are green with evenly spaced purple bands.
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
known by the common name Purple oniongrass.
Distribution
It is native to western North America from British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
to northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
, where it grows in moist meadows, forests, and other mountainous habitat.
Description
Melica spectabilis is a perennial grass which varies in maximum height from under 10 centimeters to nearly a meter, growing from rhizomeRhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
s and stalked, onionlike corm
Corm
A corm is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat ....
s. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a narrow series of spikelets which are green with evenly spaced purple bands.