''Melica harfordii'' is a species of

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

known by the common name Harford's oniongrass.

Distribution

It is native to western North America from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where it grows in many types of habitat, including mountain forests and open hillsides. It is found in the foothills and higher elevations of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

Description

''Melica harfordii'' is a perennial

bunchgrass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennial ...

growing up to in maximum height. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a narrow series of spikelets tipped with nearly invisible awns.

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment — ''Melica harfordii''Grass Manual Treatment''Melica harfordii'' — Photo gallery
harfordii Bunchgrasses of North America Grasses of the United States Grasses of Canada Native grasses of California Flora of the West Coast of the United States Flora of the Klamath Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of British Columbia Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Pooideae-stub