This grass with a strictly Mediterranean distribution is present in Liguria and in almost all the regions of Central, Southern and Insular Italy (absent from the Marche and Molise). It grows in open maquis and garrigue vegetation, sometimes also in moist ravines, from sea level to about 800 m, with optimum in the Mediterranean belt. The species is rare in the outer margin of the temporary ponds of Sardinia, in contact with the Mediterranean maquis. The genus name is of uncertain etymology: it could derive from the Latin 'milium' (millet) by a derivation in the medieval 'milica', or from the Greek 'meli' (honey), due to the sweet taste of the stem; the species name refers to the small size of the spikelets; the name of the subspecies, which means 'with broad leaves', refers to the fact that the leaves are wider than those of the nominal subspecies. Flowering period: April to May.

Italian name(s): Melica piramidale (Italia).