The Meliceae are a tribe 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 a ...

es near the base of the

Pooideae The Pooideae are the largest subfamily of the grass family Poaceae, with about 4,000 species in 15 tribes and roughly 200 genera. They include some major cereals such as wheat, barley, oat, rye and many lawn and pasture grasses. They are often ...

. They include two relatively large genera, '' Melica'' (based on accounts in multiple regional floras) with about 80-90 species and ''

Glyceria ''Glyceria'' is a widespread genus of grass family common across Eurasia, Australia, North Africa, and the Americas. ''Glyceria'' is known commonly as mannagrass in the United States, or, in the UK, sweet-grass. These are perennial rhizomatous ...

'' with about 55 species.Tsvelev, N.N. 2006. Synopsis of the mannagrass genus, ''Glyceria'' (Poaceae). Bot. Zhurn. (Moscow and Leningrad). 2006. 91(2):255–276 Its other genera are '' Koordersiochloa'', '' Lycochloa'', '' Pleuropogon'', '' Schizachne'', and '' Triniochloa''.

Distinguishing characteristics

Members of the Meliceae have closed leaf sheaths; lemma veins that do not or only scarcely converge distally; and short, truncate, lodicules. They differ from

Bromeae ''Bromus'' is a large genus of grasses, classified in its own tribe Bromeae. They are commonly known as bromes, brome grasses, cheat grasses or chess grasses. Estimates in the scientific literature of the number of species have ranged from 100 ...

, another tribe with closed leaf sheaths, in their glabrous ovaries as well as their lemma venation and short short lodicules. They also differ from other members of the Pooideae in having chromosome base numbers of 9, 10, and 8.

Geography and ecology

The Meliceae are most abundant in temperate regions of Eurasia but are also well represented in temperate regions of North and South America but there are great differences between the genera. ''Glyceria'' and'' Pleuropogon'' grow in wet areas, often in standing water; ''Melica'' and ''Schizachne'' tend to grow in dry, well-drained sites.

Economic importance

Members of the Meliceae have little economic importance. A few species of both ''Melica'' and ''Glyceria'' are grown as ornamentals; more merit consideration but caution should be used. Some species of ''Glyceria'', notably ''G. declinata'', are invasive.

References

External links

Listing of the genera with notes

Meliceae in Flora of China

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4895554 Pooideae Poaceae tribes