Muhlenbergia arenicola
Muhlenbergia sylvatica
sand muhly
forest muhly, muhlenbergie des bois, woodland muhly
(15)20-60 (70) cm, somewhat decumbent, 1 or more nodes exposed;
internodes hispidulous below the nodes.
40-110 cm tall, 1-2 mm thick, erect;
internodes puberulent for most of their length, strigose below the nodes.
glabrous and smooth for most of their length, scabridulous distally, margins hyaline;
ligules 1-2.5 mm, membranous, truncate, lacerate-ciliolate;
blades 5-18 cm long, 3-7 mm wide, flat, scabrous to scabridulous, occasionally smooth.
somewhat basally concentrated, most blades not reaching more than (1/4)1/2 of the plant height;
sheaths usually a little shorter than the internodes, not keeled, scabridulous, margins hyaline, basal sheaths rounded, not becoming spirally coiled when old;
ligules 2-9 mm, hyaline, acute, lacerate, often with lateral lobes;
blades 4-10(16) cm long, 1-2.2 mm wide, not arcuate, flat, folded, or involute, scabrous, often glaucous, midveins and margins not thickened, green.
12-30 cm long, 5-20 cm wide, diffuse;
primary branches 1-10 cm, diverging 30-80° from the rachises, naked basally;
pedicels 1-4(6) mm.
terminal and axillary, 6-21 cm long, 0.2-1 cm wide, narrow, not dense;
axillary panicles usually exserted at maturity;
branches 0.8-6 cm, ascending to closely appressed;
pedicels 0.8-3.5 mm, strigose.
2.5-4.2 mm.
2.2-3.7 mm.
equal, 1.4-2.5 mm, 1-veined, apices scabridulous, acute to acuminate, minutely erose, unawned or awned, awns to 1 mm;
lemmas 2.5-4.2 mm, narrowly elliptic, usually purplish, scabrous distally, appressed-pubescent on the lower 1/2 - 3/4 of the margins and midveins, apices acuminate, awned, awns 0.5-4.2 mm;
paleas 2.5-3.5 mm, narrowly elliptic, intercostal region sparsely pubescent, apices acuminate, with 2 short (0.1-0.2 mm) awns;
anthers 1.5-2.1 mm, greenish.
subequal, 1.8-3 mm, nearly as long as the lemmas, 1-veined, tapering from near the base, apices scabridulous, acuminate, unawned or awned, awns to 1 mm;
lemmas 2.2-3.7 mm, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, hairy on the calluses, lower 1/2 of the midveins, and margins, hairs 0.2-0.5 mm, apices scabridulous, acuminate, awned, awns 5-18 mm, purplish;
paleas 2-3.5 mm, lanceolate, proximal 1/2 shortly pilose, apices scabridulous, acuminate;
anthers 0.4-0.8 mm, yellow.
1.9-2.3 mm, fusiform, brownish.
1.4-2 mm, fusiform, brown.
= 80, 82.
= 40.
Muhlenbergia arenicola
Muhlenbergia sylvatica
Muhlenbergia arenicola grows on sandy mesas, limestone benches, and in valleys and open desert grasslands, at elevations of 600-2135 m. Its range extends from the southwestern United States to central Mexico. It also grows, as a disjunct, in northwestern Argentina.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Muhlenbergia sylvatica grows in upland forests, along creeks and hollows, on rocky ledges derived from sandstone, shale, or calcareous parent materials, moist prairies, and swamps, at elevations from 30-1500 m. It is restricted to the Flora region, its primary range being southeastern Canada and the midwestern and eastern United States. Reports from British Columbia were based on a misidentification (Douglas et al. 2002). The record from Arizona is based on the report in Kearney and Peebles (1951) of a collection made by Toumey at Grapevine Creek in the Grand Canyon.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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