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]
| Melica nitens | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Pooideae |
| Genus: | Melica |
| Species: | M. nitens
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| Binomial name | |
| Melica nitens | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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List
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Description edit
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 edit
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 edit
- ^ a b c Melica nitens. NatureServe.
- ^ "Melica nitens (Scribn.) Nutt. ex Piper | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Melica nitens. Archived 2015-07-03 at the Wayback Machine Grass Manual Treatment.
- ^ a b c Melica nitens. USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet.
- ^ "Three-flowered Melic Grass (Melica nitens) - Wisconsin DNR". dnr.wi.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-30.