Family |
Poaceae
Melica inaequiglumis
Boiss.
Melica inaequiglumis Boiss.
First published in Diagn. Pl. Orient. 7: 124 (1846).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, pp. 92–93, Pl. XXVII, 3; 1966)
Description
Synonyms: Melica cupani var. inaequiglumis (Boiss.) Regel; Melica persica subsp. inaequiglumis (Boiss.) Bor.
Life-form & habit: Perennial. Mouterde distinguishes this taxon from the preceding M. cupani account chiefly by its looser, slightly more nodding panicles and more unequal glumes.
Inflorescence & flowers: In the diagnostic description, the lower glume is half the length of the upper glume or less. Mouterde found that the Lebanese and Syrian specimens he examined instead had a lower-to-upper glume ratio of one-half to two-thirds, intermediate between the descriptions of M. cupani and M. inaequiglumis, and tentatively placed them with the latter.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: April–July.
Habitat & elevation: Pastures in mountains and dry regions.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Baalbeck is cited under M. inaequiglumis. Material examined and provisionally placed in M. inaequiglumis in a broad sense came from Jezzine, Togra Pass, Ain Zehalta, Bhamdoun, Douma, Tartij, Hasroun, Afqa, Bcharre, Sannine, Qaa er Rine, Ammiq, Wadi el Harir and the road to Yanta.
Syrian distribution: Provisionally assigned material from Wadi el Qarn, Qaldoun, Houreire, Kutchuk Darmik, Tell Ahmar, Soueida, Kafer and Tell Qouleib.
Historical locality: Mouterde also lists Qalaat Jendel under M. inaequiglumis; its country grouping in that passage is not unambiguous.
Recorded locations: Sannine and Makmel.
Native range: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Kirgizstan, Lebanon-Syria, Pakistan, Palestine, Sinai, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Türkiye and Uzbekistan.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Kew accepts Melica inaequiglumis separately from M. cupani and M. persica. Mouterde explicitly questioned the identification of the regional material because its glume proportions were intermediate. His provisional records above retain that uncertainty; they are not confirmed modern redeterminations. Records listed specifically under M. cupani or its var. viridis have not been transferred here.