Scientific Family
Poaceae
Synonyms
Epicampes rigens, Muhlenbergia marshii, Muhlenbergia mundula
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
Yes
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Warm
Grows in sandy washes, gravelly canyon bottoms, rocky drainages, and moist, sandy slopes, often along small streams.
Plant Community
Riparian
Low elevation
3000
High elevation
7500
Similar species
Muhlenbergia emersleyi
General Description
Tall, stiffly erect bunchgrass with densely clumped stems from a hard knotty base.
Tufted perennial grass without rhizomes; narrow seedheads, dense or spikelike 3 to 24 inches long; branches flowered from base; awnless; blades rolled inward; glumes sharp or rounded; ligule 1/16 inch long. Similar to bullgrass which has open seedheads.
Grass type
Perennial bunchgrass
Rhizomes
No
Stolons
No
Clump Diameter 2 ft or more
Yes
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
Seedhead long and narrow, spikelike, 3 to 24 inches long, less than 1/2 inch wide. Spikelets less than 1/8 inch long.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
No
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Involute – rolled inward on upper surface
Blades 4 to 20 inches long, 1/16 to 1.4 inch wide, flat or mostly rolled inward and tapering to a thread-like tip, stiff, smooth below, rough on top.
Sheath is hairy
No
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
No
Ligule
Membranous
Auricles
No
Poor due to coarseness.