Scientific Family
Poaceae
Synonyms
Muhlenbergia wolfii, Sporobolus ramulosus
Other common names
ponderosa muhly
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
No
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Warm
Found on open, well-drained areas, slopes, sandy meadows, washes, rock outcrops and gravelly road cuts.
Plant Community
Disturbed Areas
Montane Conifer Forest
Low elevation
7000
High elevation
10000
General Description
Annual with simple stems 2 to 10 inches long, erect, branching.
Annual; glumes unequal, 1-nerved and without hairs; seedheads open; spikelets stems stout and short, 1 to 3 mm long; lemmas mottled with greenish-black and greenish-white or purplish patches.
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 - open and spreading
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
August
Last bloom month
September
Flower Characteristics
Flowers per Spikelet
One-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
No
Awns
Absent
Three Awns
No
Awns bent
No
Flower and Seedhead Notes
Seedheads are 3/4 to 3-1/2 inches long; primary branches are about 1 inch long, ascending and spreading 20 to 100 degrees from the axis. Spikelets sparse and not awned.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
Yes
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Flat
Involute – rolled inward on upper surface
Blades are up to one inch long, 1/16th inch wide, involute or flat, smooth on the bottom and covered with fine short hairs on the top.
Sheath is hairy
Yes
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
No
Ligule
Membranous and hairy
Auricles
No
Fair to good.