Melica bulbosa
Oniongrass, Oniongrass
(c) Matt Lavin, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Melica bulbosa (Oniongrass) is a native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by corms and intact sheaths.
Oniongrass is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada, Great Basin, and western edge of the Mojave Desert in dry rocky slopes and conifer forest at elevations up to 3,400 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces delicate pale flowers in loose branching clusters with spikelets 6 to 24 millimeters long. Growing with stems 20 to 100 centimeters tall and developing characteristic sessile corms at the base, it spreads via short rhizomes. Its leaf blades are relatively narrow, 1.5 to 5 millimeters wide, with persistent basal leaf sheaths that remain intact. The plant's lemmas are 6 to 12 millimeters long, with tips ranging from obtuse to acute, giving the grass a subtle textural complexity.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: Co-occurs with 11 species; corms and intact sheaths are diagnostic
Habitat and range
Habitat: dry rocky slopes, conifer forest
Elevation: < 3400 m
California counties: Tuolumne, Alpine, Butte, Calaveras, Fresno, Siskiyou, Sacramento, Humboldt, Trinity, Marin, Placer, Sierra, Nevada, Madera, El Dorado, Inyo, Mono, Plumas, Santa Clara, Tulare, Mariposa, Amador, Modoc, Kern, Lassen, Shasta, Glenn, Tehama, Lake, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, Solano, Del Norte, Yolo, Contra Costa
Outside California: western Canada, Rocky Mountains, Texas
Bloom period
Melica bulbosa blooms Jul-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 bulbosa native to California?
Yes. Melica bulbosa is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Melica bulbosa bloom?
Melica bulbosa blooms Jul-Aug.
Where in California does Melica bulbosa grow?
Melica bulbosa occurs in Tuolumne, Alpine, Butte, Calaveras, Fresno, Siskiyou, Sacramento, Humboldt and other counties, at elevations of < 3400 m.
What plant family does Melica bulbosa belong to?
Melica bulbosa is in the Poaceae family, genus Melica.
What habitat does Melica bulbosa grow in?
Melica bulbosa grows in dry rocky slopes, 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.