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Melica nitens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Melica nitens

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this 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 diffusa var. nitens Scribn.
    • Melica scabra Nutt.

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]

Description

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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]

Habitat

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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]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Melica nitens. NatureServe.
  2. ^ "Melica nitens (Scribn.) Nutt. ex Piper | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  3. ^ a b c d e Barbara Coffin; Lee Pfannmuller (1988). Minnesota's Endangered Flora and Fauna. U of Minnesota Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-8166-1689-3.
  4. ^ a b Melica nitens. Archived 2015-07-03 at the Wayback Machine Grass Manual Treatment.
  5. ^ a b c Melica nitens. USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet.
  6. ^ "Three-flowered Melic Grass (Melica nitens) - Wisconsin DNR". dnr.wi.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-30.