The temperate grass clade Pooideae includes some of the world’s most important cereal crops like wheat, barley, rye, and oat. The widespread genus Melica (~90 species) is situated phylogenetically between these crops and rice. Melica species exhibit notable variation in both flowering and belowground traits. This makes the group well-suited for comparative and evolutionary studies of grasses. However, the genus is missing a well-supported phylogenetic framework to contextualize those studies. We aim to use the universally applied Angiosperms353 target probe to develop a rigorous phylogeny of Melica. Results of this work will be an invaluable resource in developing the genus as a model group for trait evolution in grasses.