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alkali muhly, or alkali muhly, scratch grass

seep muhly

Habit Plants perennial; rhizomatous, not cespitose, occasionally: stoloniferous. Plants perennial; cespitose, not rhizomatous, typical bunch-grasses in appearance.
Culms

10-60(100) cm, decumbent-ascending, bases somewhat compressed-keeled;

internodes glabrous, shiny below the nodes.

40-80 cm, stiffly erect from the base, not conspicuously branched;

internodes glabrous, sometimes puberulent below the nodes.

Sheaths

glabrous, margins hyaline;

ligules 0.2-1 mm, firm, truncate, ciliate, without lateral lobes;

blades 2-7(11) cm long, 1-2.8(4) mm wide, flat, occasionally conduplicate, smooth or scabridulous abaxially, scabridulous adaxially, margins and midveins not conspicuously thickened, greenish, apices acute, not sharp.

shorter than the internodes, smooth or scabridulous, basal sheaths rounded, not becoming spirally coiled when old;

ligules (2)4-7(9) mm, firmer near the base, obtuse, lacerate;

blades 8-35 cm long, 1-2 mm wide, flat or involute, filiform, glabrous abaxially, densely hirtellous adaxially.

Panicles

6-21 cm long, 4-16 cm wide, broadly ovoid, open;

primary branches 3-12 cm, capillary, lower branches spreading 30-90° from the rachises, never appearing fascicled;

pedicels 3-14 mm, longer than the spikelets.

10-20(30) cm long, 4-15 cm wide, about as wide as long, loosely contracted to open but not diffuse;

primary branches 1.4-10 cm, capillary, diverging up to 80° from the rachises, scabridulous, naked basally, lower branches with 5-15(20) spikelets;

pedicels 3-25 mm, longer than the spikelets, capillary, stiff, or flexuous.

Spikelets

1.2-2.1 mm, occasionally with 2 or 3 florets.

3.5-5 mm, stramineous or brownish to purplish.

Glumes

equal, 0.6-1.7 mm, purplish, scabridulous, particularly on the veins, 1-veined, apices acute;

lemmas 1.2-2.1 mm, lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, somewhat plumbeous, glabrous, usually smooth, occasionally scabridulous near the apices, apices acute, unawned or mucronate, mucros to 0.3 mm;

paleas 1.2-2.1 mm, lanceolate, glabrous, acute;

anthers 1-1.3 mm, greenish-yellow to purplish at maturity.

subequal, 1-3 mm, shorter than the florets, hyaline, mostly sparsely hirtellous, apices glabrous, 1-veined (sometimes faintly so), acute, occasionally mucronate, mucros shorter than 0.7 mm;

lemmas 3.5-5 mm, narrowly lanceolate, calluses hairy, hairs to 0.5 mm, lemma bodies glabrous and smooth, apices scabridulous, acuminate, awned, awns 0.5-4(6) mm, clearly demarcated from the lemma bodies;

paleas 3.5-5 mm, narrowly lanceolate, mostly glabrous;

anthers 1.1-2 mm, yellowish to purplish.

Caryopses

0.8-1 mm, fusiform, brownish.

2-2.4 mm, fusiform, brownish.

2n

= 20, 22, 28.

= 20.

Muhlenbergia asperifolia

Muhlenbergia reverchonii

Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MD; MI; MN; MO; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; SD; TX; UT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; ON; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
OK; TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Muhlenbergia asperifolia grows in moist, often alkaline meadows, playa margins, and sandy washes, on grassy slopes, and around seeps and hot springs, at elevations of 55-3000 m. Its geographic range includes northern Mexico. Muhlenbergia asperifolia is morphologically similar to the southeastern M. torreyana, but differs in having glabrous, weakly compressed culms and more widely divergent panicle branches.

The caryopses of Muhlenbergia asperifolia are frequently infected by a smut, Tilletia asperifolia Ellis & Everhart, which produces a globose body filled with blackish-brown spores.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Muhlenbergia reverchonii grows on calcareous rocky slopes, flats, and limestone rock outcrops, at elevations of 150-650 m. It is restricted to Oklahoma and Texas. Muhlenbergia reverchonii resembles M. capillaris and M. setifolia in many respects, but differs from the former in its smooth and shiny lemmas, and from the latter in its wider panicles, spreading panicle branches, acute glumes, and more shortly awned lemmas.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 179. FNA vol. 25, p. 190.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Muhlenbergia Poaceae > subfam. Chloridoideae > tribe Cynodonteae > Muhlenbergia
Sibling taxa
M. andina, M. appressa, M. arenacea, M. arenicola, M. arizonica, M. arsenei, M. brevis, M. bushii, M. californica, M. capillaris, M. crispiseta, M. curtifolia, M. cuspidata, M. depauperata, M. diversiglumis, M. dubia, M. dumosa, M. elongata, M. eludens, M. emersleyi, M. expansa, M. filiculmis, M. filiformis, M. fragilis, M. frondosa, M. glabrifloris, M. glauca, M. glomerata, M. jonesii, M. lindheimeri, M. longiligula, M. mexicana, M. microsperma, M. minutissima, M. montana, M. palmeri, M. pauciflora, M. pectinata, M. peruviana, M. polycaulis, M. porteri, M. pungens, M. racemosa, M. ramulosa, M. repens, M. reverchonii, M. richardsonis, M. rigens, M. rigida, M. schreberi, M. sericea, M. setifolia, M. sinuosa, M. sobolifera, M. spiciformis, M. straminea, M. sylvatica, M. tenuiflora, M. tenuifolia, M. texana, M. thurberi, M. torreyana, M. torreyi, M. uniflora, M. utilis, M. villiflora, M. wrightii, M. ×curtisetosa, M. ×involuta
M. andina, M. appressa, M. arenacea, M. arenicola, M. arizonica, M. arsenei, M. asperifolia, M. brevis, M. bushii, M. californica, M. capillaris, M. crispiseta, M. curtifolia, M. cuspidata, M. depauperata, M. diversiglumis, M. dubia, M. dumosa, M. elongata, M. eludens, M. emersleyi, M. expansa, M. filiculmis, M. filiformis, M. fragilis, M. frondosa, M. glabrifloris, M. glauca, M. glomerata, M. jonesii, M. lindheimeri, M. longiligula, M. mexicana, M. microsperma, M. minutissima, M. montana, M. palmeri, M. pauciflora, M. pectinata, M. peruviana, M. polycaulis, M. porteri, M. pungens, M. racemosa, M. ramulosa, M. repens, M. richardsonis, M. rigens, M. rigida, M. schreberi, M. sericea, M. setifolia, M. sinuosa, M. sobolifera, M. spiciformis, M. straminea, M. sylvatica, M. tenuiflora, M. tenuifolia, M. texana, M. thurberi, M. torreyana, M. torreyi, M. uniflora, M. utilis, M. villiflora, M. wrightii, M. ×curtisetosa, M. ×involuta
Name authority (Nees & Meyen ex Trin.) Parodi Vasey & Scribn.
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