Scientific Family
Poaceae
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
No
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Warm
Grows on gravelly flats, rocky outcrops, exposed bedrock, limestone soils and sandy banks in grassland and scrub associations. Can form dense stands in depressions and flats in limestone gravel.
Plant Community
Grasslands
Interior Chaparral
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Low elevation
5000
High elevation
8000
Similar species
M. brevis
General Description
Small tufted annuals with erect or trailing branches from the base. Seedhead branches are appressed.
Annual; seedhead with appressed branches; first glume bifid; lemmas awned. Similar toM. brevis. but with shorter lemma awns (6 to 15 mm) as compared to 10 to 20 mm.
Grass type
Annual
Rhizomes
No
Stolons
No
Clump Diameter 2 ft or more
No
Bushy - highly branched
No
Height with Seedheads
Less than 12 inches
Seedhead Structure
Branched - contracted
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
August
Last bloom month
October
Flower Characteristics
Flowers per Spikelet
One-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
No
Awns
1/4 inch to 1 inch
Three Awns
No
Awns bent
No
Flower and Seedhead Notes
Seedhead branches are 1 to 3 inches long and compressed with pairs of appressed spikelets.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
Yes
Blade margins white
Yes
Blade cross-section
Flat
Involute – rolled inward on upper surface
Blades have a rough surface and are 1 to 3 inches long, 1/8 inch wide, flat or inrolled; midveins and margins thickened and whitish in color.
Sheath is hairy
Yes
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
No
Ligule
Membranous
Auricles
No
Fair to good.