Scientific Family
Poaceae
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
No
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Warm
Grows on rocky slopes, canyons, and rocky outcrops derived from volcanic or limestone parent materials.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Montane Conifer Forest
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Low elevation
4000
High elevation
8500
Similar species
M. emersleyi, M. lindheimeri
General Description
Tufted perennial with stout erect stems 2 to 4 feet high. Stem internodes are mostly smooth, sometimes minutely roughened below the nodes, sheaths rounded at the base.
Tufted perennial, seedheads narrow, flowered from the base, lemma awnless or with short tip. Distinguished from M. emersleyi by the rounded base of the sheath, smooth lemmas, and seedhead branches flowered from the base.
Grass type
Perennial bunchgrass
Rhizomes
No
Stolons
No
Clump Diameter 2 ft or more
No
Bushy - highly branched
No
Height with Seedheads
Greater than 36 inches
Seedhead Structure
Branched - contracted
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
July
Last bloom month
October
Flower Characteristics
Flowers per Spikelet
One-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
No
Awns
Absent
Three Awns
No
Awns bent
No
Flower and Seedhead Notes
Dense seedheads are up to 24 inches long, contracted to open, greenish-tan to purplish; with erect stiff primary branches that are spikelet-bearing to the base. Branches have 30 to 60 spikelets, each with 1 fertile floret. Spikelets rarely have awns.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
Yes
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Flat
Involute – rolled inward on upper surface
Blades are 6 to 24 inches long, 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide, flat or inrolled at the margins, rough on the bottom and smooth on the top.
Sheath is hairy
Yes
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
No
Ligule
Membranous
Auricles
No
Fair to good.