Melica geyeri
Geyer's oniongrass
(c) Dee Shea Himes, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Melica geyeri (Geyer's oniongrass) is a native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by tallest height and spreading branches diagnostic.
Geyer's oniongrass is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, California Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada, San Francisco Bay Area, and northern South Coast Ranges in dry open slopes, oak woodland, and conifer forest at elevations below 2,200 meters. Flowering from April to July, this grass produces delicate spikelets 8 to 24 millimeters long with spreading to reflexed branches. Growing with stems 80 to 200 centimeters tall, it develops sessile corms and forms short to long rhizomes. Its leaves have ligules 2 to 3.5 millimeters long and blades 2 to 8 millimeters wide, with basal leaf sheaths becoming fibrous over time. The plant produces 2 to 6 bisexual florets with lemmas 8 to 11 millimeters long, occasionally featuring a short awn up to 2 millimeters.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: Co-occurs with 11 species; tallest height and spreading branches diagnostic
Habitat and range
Habitat: dry open slopes, oak woodland, conifer forest
Elevation: < 2200 m
California counties: Mendocino, Sonoma, Glenn, Lake, Del Norte, Napa, Santa Cruz, Humboldt, Plumas, San Luis Obispo, Alameda, Marin, Monterey, San Mateo, Butte, Placer, Santa Clara, Sierra, Siskiyou, Trinity, El Dorado, Mariposa, San Francisco, Tehama, Nevada, Shasta, Tuolumne, Inyo
Outside California: Oregon, British Columbia
Bloom period
Melica geyeri blooms Apr-Jul.
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 geyeri native to California?
Yes. Melica geyeri is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Melica geyeri bloom?
Melica geyeri blooms Apr-Jul.
Where in California does Melica geyeri grow?
Melica geyeri occurs in Mendocino, Sonoma, Glenn, Lake, Del Norte, Napa, Santa Cruz, Humboldt and other counties, at elevations of < 2200 m.
What plant family does Melica geyeri belong to?
Melica geyeri is in the Poaceae family, genus Melica.
What habitat does Melica geyeri grow in?
Melica geyeri grows in dry open slopes, oak woodland, 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.