Melica subulata (Griseb.) Scribn.
Alaska oniongrass
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Alaska oniongrass
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial, tufted grass from short, thick rhizomes, bulbous-based, the bulbs clustered; stems erect, 30-80 (110) cm tall.
Leaves:
Sheaths closed nearly or quite to the tops, but often split at maturity, sparsely to copiously spreading-hairy to merely minutely rough-hairy; blades minutely rough- to crisp-hairy or sparsely stiff-hairy on the upper surfaces, minutely rough to smooth beneath, 2-7 mm wide, flat; ligules often closed but frequently split, eroded-jagged to somewhat irregular-jagged, smooth, 1-5 mm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a narrow panicle 10-20 cm long, the few branches ascending to erect, but occasionally spreading; spikelets loosely 2- to 5-flowered, somewhat compressed, 12-20 mm long; glumes abruptly sharp-pointed to long-pointed, the lower ones about 5-6.5 mm long, obscurely 3-nerved, the upper glumes 7.5-9 mm long, lightly (5) 7-nerved; lemmas more or less fringed with fine hairs on the margins and nerves below, obscurely 7-nerved, strongly tapering and long-pointed, 9-13 mm long, unawned; anthers about 1.5 (2) mm long.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Mid Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Melica subulata
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
283 | 0 | 2268 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
17 | 0 | 230 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
197 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 0 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
358 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CWH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
CDF(123), CWH(182), ESSF(14), ICH(14), IDF(2), MS(2), SBS(12) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist to dry meadows and forests in the lowland and montane zones; common on Vancouver Island, frequent on the Queen Charlotte Islands, rare in S BC; N to SE AK, E to SW AB and S to SD, ID, UT and CA; Chile.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Melica subulata var. subulata (Griseb.) Scribn.