Melica

Melica is a genus of perennial grasses known generally as melic or melic grass. They are found in most temperate regions of the world.
Melic grasses are clumping to short-rhizomatous grasses. They have flowering culms up to tall bearing spikelets of papery flowers. The spikelets have between one and seven fertile flowers with a rudimentary structure at the distal end composed of one to four sterile florets. Some species of melic have corms, lending them the name oniongrass.
The genus is most diverse in South America and temperate Asia. Eight species are endemic to China. In North America, most species occur west of the Mississippi River, with exceptions being Melica mutica and M. nitens which occur throughout much of the southeast and lower Midwest respectively.
Species
Species and hybrids include:
Melica altissima L. – Siberian melic grass
Melica amethystina Pourr.
Melica animarum Muj.-Sall. & M.Marchi
Melica argentata É.Desv.
Melica argyrea Hack.
Melica aristata Thurb. ex Bol. – bearded melic grass
Melica arzivencoi Valls & Barcellos
Melica × aschersonii M.Schulze
Melica bocquetii Talavera
Melica bonariensis Parodi
Melica brasiliana Ard.
Melica brevicoronata Roseng.
Melica bulbosa Porter & J.M.Coult. – oniongrass
Melica californica Scribn. – California melic grass
Melica canariensis W.Hempel
Melica capillaris Sol.
Melica cepacea (Phil.) Scribn.
Melica chilensis J.Presl
Melica ciliata L. – hairy melic, silky spike melic
Melica commersonii Nees ex Steud.
Melica cupani Guss.
Melica decipiens Caro
Melica dendroides Lehm.
Melica eligulata Boiss.
Melica eremophila Torres
Melica frutescens Scribn. – woody melicgrass
Melica fugax Bol. – little oniongrass
Melica geyeri Munro ex Bol. – Geyer's oniongrass
Melica glabrescens (Torres) Torres
Melica grandiflora Koidz.
Melica harfordii Bol. – Harford's oniongrass
Melica × haussknechtii W.Hempel
Melica hunzikeri Nicora
Melica hyalina Döll
Melica imperfecta Trin. – smallflower melic
Melica kozlovii Tzvelev
Melica lilloi Bech.
Melica longiflora Steud.
Melica longiligulata Z.L.Wu
Melica macra Nees
Melica minor Hack. ex Boiss.
Melica minuta L. – small melic
Melica mollis Phil.
Melica montezumae Piper – Montezuma melic
Melica mutica Walter – two-flower melic grass
Melica nitens (Scribn.) Nutt. ex Piper – three-flower melic grass
Melica nutans L. – mountain melic; nodding melic
Melica onoei Franch. & Sav.
Melica pappiana W.Hempel
Melica parodiana Torres
Melica patagonica Parodi
Melica paulsenii Phil.
Melica penicillaris Boiss. & Balansa
Melica persica Kunth
Melica picta K.Koch
Melica poecilantha É.Desv.
Melica porteri Scribn.
Melica przewalskyi Roshev.
Melica racemosa Thunb.
Melica radula Franch.
Melica rectiflora Boiss. & Heldr.
Melica rigida Cav.
Melica riograndensis Longhi-Wagner & Valls
Melica sarmentosa Nees
Melica scaberrima (Nees ex Steud.) Hook.f.
Melica scabra Kunth
Melica scabrosa Trin.
Melica schafkati Bondarenko
Melica schuetzeana W.Hempel
Melica secunda Regel
Melica serrana Muj.-Sall. & M.Marchi
Melica smirnovii Tzvelev
Melica smithii (Porter ex A.Gray) Vasey – Smith's melicgrass
Melica spartinoides L.B.Sm.
Melica spectabilis Scribn. – purple oniongrass
Melica stricta Bol. – rock melic grass
Melica stuckertii Hack.
Melica subflava Z.L.Wu &
Melica subulata (Griseb.) Scribn. – Alaska oniongrass
Melica tangutorum Tzvelev
Melica taylorii W.Hempel
Melica teneriffae Hack. ex Christ
Melica tenuis Arechav.
Melica × thuringiaca Rauschert
Melica tibetica Roshev.
Melica torreyana Scribn. – Torrey's melic
Melica transsilvanica Schur
Melica turczaninowiana Ohwi
Melica × tzvelevii W.Hempel
Melica uniflora Retz.
Melica violacea Cav.
Melica virgata Turcz. ex Trin.
Melica × weinii W.Hempel
Melica yajiangensis Z.L.Wu
References
Poaceae genera
Grasses of Africa
Grasses of Asia
Grasses of Europe
Grasses of North America
Grasses of Oceania
Grasses of South America
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus