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bristly muhly, marsh muhly, muhlenbergie agglomeree, spike muhly

foxtail muhly

Habit Plants perennial; rhizomatous, not cespitose. Plants perennial; rhizomatous, not cespitose.
Culms

30-120 cm tall, 0.8-2.5 mm thick, erect, seldom branched above the base;

internodes dull, mostly puberulent (sometimes sparsely so), terete, rarely keeled, strigose immediately below the nodes.

25-85 cm tall, 0.9-1.7 mm thick, ascending;

internodes glabrous for most of their length, scabrous to strigose below the nodes.

Sheaths

scabridulous, slightly keeled;

ligules 0.2-0.6 mm, membranous, truncate, lacerate-ciliolate;

blades 2-15 cm long, 2-6 mm wide, flat, usually scabrous or scabridulous, occasionally smooth.

scabridulous, especially basally;

ligules 0.5-1.5 mm, membranous, truncate, lacerate to ciliate;

blades 4-16 cm long, 2-4(5) mm wide, flat, scabrous abaxially, pubescent adaxially.

Panicles

1.5-12 cm long, 0.3-1.8 cm wide, lobed, dense;

primary branches 0.2-2.5 cm, appressed;

pedicels absent or to 1 mm, strigose.

2-15 cm long, 0.5-2.8 cm wide, contracted, dense;

primary branches 0.5-5 cm, appressed to strongly ascending;

pedicels 0.5-1.5 mm, appressed, strigose.

Spikelets

3-8 mm.

2-4 mm.

Glumes

subequal, 3-8 mm (including the awn), about 1.3-2 times longer than the lemmas, smooth or scabridulous distally, 1-veined, acuminate, awned, awns to 5 mm;

lemmas 1.9-3.1 mm, lanceolate, pubescent on the calluses, mid-veins, and margins, hairs to 1.2 mm, apices scabridulous, acuminate, unawned or awned, awns to 1 mm;

paleas 1.9-3.1 mm, lanceolate, loosely pilose between the veins, apices acuminate;

anthers 0.8-1.5 mm, yellowish.

equal to subequal, 2-4 mm, subequal to or longer than the florets, 1-veined, veins scabridulous, apices acuminate to awn-tipped;

lemmas 2-3.5 mm, lanceolate, grayish-green, hairy on the calluses and lemma bases, hairs 2-3.5 mm, apices acuminate, awned, awns 1-10 mm;

paleas 2-3.5 mm, lanceolate, bases with silky hairs between the veins, apices acuminate;

anthers 0.4-1.5 mm, yellow.

Caryopses

1-1.6 mm, fusiform, brown.

0.9-1.1 mm, cylindrical, yellowish-brown.

2n

= 20.

= 20.

Muhlenbergia glomerata

Muhlenbergia andina

Distribution
from FNA
CO; CT; DC; IA; ID; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SD; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; LB; MB; NB; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; KS; MT; NM; NV; OR; TX; UT; WA; WY; BC; MB; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Muhlenbergia glomerata grows in meadows, marshes, bogs, alkaline fens, lake margins, stream banks, beside irrigation ditches and hot springs, and on gravelly slopes, in many different plant communities, at elevations of 30-2300 m. It is most common in southern Canada and the northeastern United States, but grows sporadically throughout the western United States. It is not known from Mexico.

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

Muhlenbergia andina grows in damp places such as stream banks, gravel bars, marshes, lake margins, damp meadows, around springs, and in canyons, at elevations of 700-3000 m. It grows only in the western part of southern Canada and the contiguous United States.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 154. FNA vol. 25, p. 156.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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
Synonyms M. racemosa var. cinnoides, M. glomerata var. cinnoides
Name authority (Willd.) Trin. (Nutt.) Hitchc.
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