Melica nitens (Scribn.) Piper, shining melic, three–flower melic, tall melic. Perennial herb, rhizomatous, firous–rooted, cespitose, many–stemmed at base, with ascending to suberect inflorescences, 70—120 cm tall; shoots with only widely spaced cauline leaves.
Stems cylindric, to 2.5 mm diameter, tough, internodes to 110 mm long, hollow, glabrous.
Leaves alternate distichous, simple with sheath; sheath closed most of length later splitting downward, > internode, conspicuously ridged especially to midrib of blade, margins not membranous, lacking lobes (auricles) at top; collar a narrow, white band; ligule opaque membranous, in range ± 1 mm long, splitting downward into triangular segments; blade linear, in range to 220 × 9 mm, minutely scabrous on margins, long–tapered to tip, parallel–veined with veins somewhat raised upper surface and midrib conspicuously raised on lower surface, upper surface glabrate with fine, inconspicuous upward–appressed short hairs and minutely scabrous along veins.
Inflorescence spikelets, in terminal panicle with widely spreading lateral branchlets, to 260 mm long, lateral branches mostly 3 per node and unequal, each branchlet with 1—several spikelets, bracteate; peduncle strongly 8–ridged, at each node often unequally 3–branched, each with a purple–red pulvinus on the inner side, the thickest axis typically spreading or somewhat deflexed; lateral axes slender, to 50 × 0.15—0.3 mm, wiry, with pulvinus and expanded base, above pulvinus straight, angular, and minutely scabrous along ridges; stalk of spikelet (“pedicel”), not straight, purplish to reddish, flexible, scabrous, stiff short–hairy to nearly hirsute approaching spikelet. Spikelet pendent to modding on lower side of spreading lateral axes, 8—9 mm long, at base of spikelet nipplelike and several–ridged and green, breaking below the glumes; glumes 2, unequal, lower glume shallowly boat–shaped, acute–ovate, ca. 7 × 3.5 mm, green with wide membranous margins and tip, 7–veined, upper glume > lower glume, lower glume acute–elliptic, ca. 8.5 × 2.2 mm, green with narrow membranous margins, (5)7–veined; rachilla ± 2.8 mm long; rudiment at end of rachilla inflated club–shaped, in straight line with rachilla; lemma of the lowest floret elliptic, ca. 9.2 × 3.3 mm, green with wide membranous margins above midpoint, with many closely spaced, fine veins and having 3 green veins extensions toward tip, of the second floret ca. 7.8 mm long, of the rudiment third floret ca. 3 mm long, ridged and minutely toothed to scabrous above midpoint; palea of the lowest floret 2–veined and 2–keeled, strongly folded along keels, oblanceolate, 5.5—6 mm long, < lemma, membranous with green veins, keels and tip short–ciliate, of second floret shorter.
Flower bisexual (the lowest flower) to pistillate and sterile; perianth (lodicules) 3 fused at base with fleshy tissue around lower portion of ovary, to 1 mm long, colorless; stamens 3 (at least the lowest flower), free; filaments threadlike, 2—3 mm long, white; anthers dorsifixed, dithecal, ca. 3.2 mm long, yellow, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen yellow; in pistillate flower often 3 stamens with flat, sterile anthers; pistil 1, to 6 mm long, with stigmas exserted from lemma near the base; ovary superior, ellipsoid, ca. 1 mm long, greenish but white where surrounded by perianth and white in fruit aging purplish at top, glabrous, 1–chambered with 1 ovule; style 2–branched with persistent base; exserted stigmas bottlebrushlike.
Fruit achene (caryopsis), oblanceoloid to narrowly ellipsoid, 2.8—3.2 × 0.7—0.9 mm, glossy golden with fine brown midline (furrow) on 1 face, slippery and falling from floret when mature (mostly 1—2 achenes per spikelet).
A. C. Gibson