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bristly muhly, marsh muhly, muhlenbergie agglomeree, spike muhly

longtongue muhly

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

60-130 cm, stout, erect;

internodes mostly smooth, sometimes scabridulous 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.

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

ligules 10-30 mm, firm and brown basally, membranous distally, acuminate to obtuse;

blades (10)20-65 cm long, 3-6 mm wide, flat or inrolled at the margins, scabrous abaxially, scabridulous or smooth 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.

15-55 cm long, 1-15 cm wide, contracted to open, greenish-tan to purplish;

primary branches 3-13 cm, narrowly ascending or diverging up to 60° from the rachises, stiff, spikelet-bearing to the base, lower branches with 30-60 spikelets;

pedicels 0.1-2.5 mm, usually shorter than the spikelets, scabridulous or smooth, strongly divergent.

Spikelets

3-8 mm.

2-3.5 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.

subequal, 2-3.5 mm, usually longer than the florets, scabridulous or smooth, 1(2)-veined, acute to acuminate, usually unawned, rarely awned, awns to 0.2 mm;

lemmas 2-2.9 mm, oblong-elliptic, tan to purplish, smooth or scabridulous, apices acute, often bifid, teeth to 0.2 mm, unawned or awned, awns to 2 mm;

paleas 2-3 mm, oblong-elliptic, scabridulous or smooth, acute;

anthers 1-2.1 mm, yellowish to purplish.

Caryopses

1-1.6 mm, fusiform, brown.

1.1-1.5 mm, fusiform, reddish-brown.

2n

= 20.

= 22, 24, 29, 30.

Muhlenbergia glomerata

Muhlenbergia longiligula

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; NM; NV; TX
[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 longiligula grows on rocky slopes, canyons, and rock outcrops derived from volcanic or calcareous parent materials, at elevations of 1220-2500 m. It is a common species in Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, and extends into northwestern Mexico. It may be confused with M. emersleyi, but differs from that species in its rounded basal leaf sheaths, glabrous lemmas, and panicle branches that are spikelet-bearing to the base. It is also similar to M. lindheimeri, but differs in its rounded basal sheaths.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 154. FNA vol. 25, p. 187.
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. 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. 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. Hitchc.
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