Melica frutescens

Woody melic, Woody Melic

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Woody melic is a California native perennial found in southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, Tehachapi, southern Coast Ranges, southern California Coast, Western Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, White and Inyo Mountains, and Deserts in dry slopes, scrub, chaparral, and woodland habitats at elevations of 300 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces pale, translucent spikelets with delicate flowers 9 to 18 millimeters long. Growing with branching stems 40 to 200 centimeters tall that emerge from the base, it has an open, sprawling form characteristic of woodland grasses. Its leaves are sparse, typically 3 to 5 per stem, with narrow blades 3 to 9 centimeters long and 1.5 to 5 millimeters wide. The plant's spikelets feature 3 to 5 bisexual florets with rounded to acute lemma tips, creating a distinctive grassy texture.

Habitat: dry slopes, scrub, chaparral, woodland

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 300-1500 m

Bioregions: s SNF, Teh, s SCoRO, SCo, WTR, PR, W&ampI, D

California counties: San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, Imperial, Inyo, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, Kern, Los Angeles, Madera, Fresno, Trinity, Mendocino, Nevada, Lake, Tehama, Santa Barbara, Sonoma

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.