| Author | Walter | |
| Distribution | Across the state, including the Outer Banks. Gaps in the Coastal Plain and Sandhills reflect the scarcity of nutrient-rich soils. The gap in the northern Mountains is hard to explain.
MD to IL, south to FL and TX. | |
| Abundance | Frequent to common in the Mountains and Piedmont; uncommon to locally frequent in the Coastal Plain, rare in the Sandhills proper. | |
| Habitat | Mesic to dry hardwoods, pine-hardwoods, and other nutrient-rich or mineral-rich forests and woodlands; maritime forests. | |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting April-June. | |
| Identification | These plants usually are 2 feet tall, with several well-spaced, slender leaves. The terminal inflorescence may be up to a foot long, the branches only a few inches long, spreading or not. The characteristic spikelets are whitish and as they mature they assume a shape like puffed rice. A grass seen in bloom in the spring on mesic forested slopes, such as when you are looking for wildflowers, is often this widespread species. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | None
| |
| Other Common Name(s) | Two-flower Melic | |
| State Rank | S5 | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
