Melica nutans L.

Perennial, with slender creeping rhizomes. Culms scattered, 25–970 cm tall, 1–2 mm in diam. Leaf sheaths keeled, very narrowly winged, wing margin and sometimes veins scabrid, glabrous or sparsely pubescent at junction with blade, lower sheaths purplish; leaf blades flat, thin, 10–26 cm × 2–5 mm, abaxial surface smooth, adaxial surface puberulent, sometimes sparsely pilose, transverse veinlets present; ligule ca. 0.3 mm or almost absent. Panicle lax, 4–15 cm, racemelike, 1-sided, eventually nodding; spikelets 5–15, mostly borne in pairs or singly directly on main axis, lowest branch sometimes bearing 2 or 3 spikelets. Spikelets obovate, 5–8 mm, glumes purple, florets green, fertile florets 2(or 3), terminal sterile lemmas gathered into globular cluster; glumes broadly ovate, subequal, 4–6 mm, margins broadly membranous, 3–7-veined, both obtuse; lemmas broadly elliptic, lowest 5–7 mm, leathery, 7–9-veined, additional intermediate veins in lower part, scaberulous or puberulous, apex obtuse; palea keels ciliolate. Anthers 1–1.5 mm. Fl. May–Jul. 2n = 18.

Rhizomatous perennial; culms 20-60 cm high, slender, erect or ascending. Leaf-blades linear-lanceolate, 4-20 cm long, 2-6 mm wide, flat, puberulous above; ligule truncate, 0.2-03 mm long; sheaths scaberulous, the lower purplish. Panicle 4-20 cm long, lax, simple or sparingly branched below, the spikelets secund and eventually nodding. Spikelets oblong-elliptic, 6-8 mm long, with 2-3 fertile florets; glumes ovate to elliptic, obtuse, slightly unequal, 4-6 mm long; lemma of fertile floret elliptic to elliptic-oblong, 5-7 mm long, obtuse, strongly 7-9-nerved, scaberulous, not shining.

Heilongjiang, Xinjiang [Japan, Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan; SW Asia (Caucasus), Europe].

Distribution: Kashmir; Europe and northern Asia.

Fl. & Fr. Per.: June-July.

Hill slopes, shady places; 1500–2300 m.

Seed heads

Melica nutans, known as mountain melick, is a grass species in the family Poaceae, native to European and Asian forests.