Alaska oniongrass facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alaska oniongrass
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Pooideae
Genus:	Melica
Species:	M. subulata
Binomial name
Melica subulata (Griseb.) Scribn.
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Melica subulata is a type of grass often called Alaska oniongrass. It gets its name because it grows small, onion-like bulbs at its base.

Where It Grows

This grass grows naturally in western North America. You can find it from Alaska down to California and over to Colorado. It likes wet places, especially in forests.

Melica subulata is an important plant in a special group of plants. This group is called the Douglas-fir/Alaska oniongrass plant community. It is quite rare today. You can find it on the southern edge of Vancouver Island. This area is near the Strait of Georgia. This plant community used to cover more land. It was also found along the Puget Sound and in the Willamette Valley.

What It Looks Like

Melica subulata is a perennial grass. This means it lives for more than two years. It grows from underground stems called rhizomes. At the bottom of each stem, it has small, round parts. These parts look like tiny onions and are called corms.

This grass can grow quite tall. It can reach a height of about 1.3 meters (about 4 feet). The plant's flowers grow in a narrow or wide cluster. This cluster is called an inflorescence. The flowers are on small, cylinder-shaped parts. These parts are called spikelets. Each spikelet can be almost 3 centimeters (about 1 inch) long.