| Melica spectabilis | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Genus: | Melica |
| Species: | M. spectabilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Melica spectabilis Scribn. |
|
Melica spectabilis is a species of grass known by the common name Purple oniongrass.
It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California to the Rocky Mountains, where it grows in moist meadows, forests, and other mountainous habitat.
Melica spectabilis is a perennial grass which varies in maximum height from under 10 centimeters to nearly a meter, growing from rhizomes and stalked, onionlike corms. The inflorescence is a narrow series of spikelets which are green with evenly spaced purple bands.