Melica aristata
Awned melic
(c) Matt Berger, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Melica aristata (Awned melic) is a native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by awns are clearly diagnostic.
Awned melic is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, and San Bernardino Mountains in dry open sites and conifer forests at elevations of 1,000 to 3,000 meters. Flowering from June to August, this grass produces delicate spikelets with translucent margins, typically 11 to 21 millimeters long. Growing with sturdy stems 40 to 120 centimeters tall, it forms distinctive clumps with narrow leaf blades 2 to 6 millimeters wide. Its lemmas feature characteristic awns 5 to 12 millimeters long, with marginal veins that may be hairy or glabrous. The plant's inflorescence spreads 7 to 26 centimeters, with branches bearing 1 to 4 spikelets arranged in a delicate, appressed pattern.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: Co-occurs with 10 species; awns are clearly diagnostic
Habitat and range
Habitat: dry open sites, conifer forest
Elevation: 1000-3000 m
California counties: Humboldt, El Dorado, Siskiyou, Mariposa, Tuolumne, Butte, Tulare, Plumas, San Bernardino, Nevada, Shasta, Tehama, Calaveras, Placer, Alpine, Amador, Glenn, Madera, Monterey, Sonoma, Trinity, Yuba, Fresno, Kern, Mendocino, Sierra, Lake, San Diego, Del Norte, Stanislaus, Mono
Outside California: southern Washington, possibly introduced to Kentucky
Bloom period
Melica aristata blooms Jun-Aug.
How to tell it apart
vs Oloptum: Melica has club-shaped sterile floret tips; Oloptum has normal pointed spikelets and needle-like rolled leaves.; vs Poa: Melica has club-shaped sterile florets at tips; Poa has all fertile florets and boat-shaped lemmas with cobwebby hairs.; vs Lolium: Melica has club-shaped floret tips and closed leaf sheaths; Lolium has edgewise spikelets and split leaf sheaths.; vs Festuca: Melica has club-shaped sterile florets; Festuca has all fertile florets and open (split) leaf sheaths.; vs Ehrharta: Melica has club-shaped sterile florets at top; Ehrharta has hardened sterile florets at bottom of spikelet.
Frequently asked questions
Is Melica aristata native to California?
Yes. Melica aristata is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Melica aristata bloom?
Melica aristata blooms Jun-Aug.
Where in California does Melica aristata grow?
Melica aristata occurs in Humboldt, El Dorado, Siskiyou, Mariposa, Tuolumne, Butte, Tulare, Plumas and other counties, at elevations of 1000-3000 m.
What plant family does Melica aristata belong to?
Melica aristata is in the Poaceae family, genus Melica.
What habitat does Melica aristata grow in?
Melica aristata grows in dry open sites, conifer forest.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.