Biology:Melica nitens
| 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 (Scribn.) Nutt. ex Piper
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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List
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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
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
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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Melica nitens. NatureServe.
- ↑ "Melica nitens (Scribn.) Nutt. ex Piper | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science" (in en). http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1034576-2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Barbara Coffin; Lee Pfannmuller (1988). Minnesota's Endangered Flora and Fauna. U of Minnesota Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-8166-1689-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=wfWNq91AjeoC.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Melica nitens. Grass Manual Treatment.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Melica nitens. USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet.
- ↑ "Three-flowered Melic Grass (Melica nitens) - Wisconsin DNR". https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/EndangeredResources/Plants.asp?mode=detail&SpecCode=PMPOA3X0D0.
Wikidata ☰ Q6812297 entry
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