About Melica subulata (Griseb.) Scribn.
Melica subulata is a rhizomatous perennial grass, with clustered onion-shaped corms at the base of each stem. It reaches a maximum height of around 1.3 meters. Its inflorescence is a narrow or spreading panicle holding cylindrical, pointed spikelets that can be nearly 3 centimeters long. This grass is native to western North America, ranging from Alaska to California to Colorado, where it grows in moist habitats, most often in forests. Melica subulata is a primary understory species of the rare Douglas-fir/Alaska oniongrass plant community. This rare association occurs only on the southern edge of Vancouver Island along the Strait of Georgia; it once had a broader distribution, also growing along Puget Sound and in the Willamette Valley.
