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bristly muhly, marsh muhly, muhlenbergie agglomeree, spike muhly

hairy 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.

4-30 cm tall, to 2 mm thick, erect;

internodes smooth or nodulose.

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 than the internodes, smooth to nodulose;

ligules 0.4-1.5 mm, membranous, acute, erose;

blades 0.7-3 cm long, 0.2-1.2 mm wide, arcuate-spreading, tightly involute, glabrous abaxially, hirtellous 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.

1-5 cm long, 0.1-0.5 cm wide, contracted, not dense, usually completely exserted;

branches 0.2-1.1 cm, appressed to ascending;

pedicels 0.1-1.2 mm, setulose.

Spikelets

3-8 mm.

1.4-2.5 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.

equal, 0.6-1.8 mm, 1/2 - 2/3 as long as the lemmas, glabrous, 1(2, 3)-veined, acute, unawned;

lemmas 1.4-2.5 mm, lanceolate, green or purplish, midveins and margins densely villous for most of their length, hairs 0.4-1 mm, apices acute, unawned, sometimes mucronate, mucros to 0.5 mm;

paleas 1.4-2.3 mm, lanceolate, intercostal region densely villous, apices acute;

anthers 0.9-1.4 mm, yellow, dark green, or purple.

Caryopses

1-1.6 mm, fusiform, brown.

1-1.4 mm, ellipsoid to fusiform, dark brown.

2n

= 20.

= 20, 40.

Muhlenbergia glomerata

Muhlenbergia villiflora

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
NM; TX
[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.)

In the United States, Muhlenbergia villiflora grows in open ground with alkaline to calcareous soils and on gypsum rock flats, at elevations of 600-1200 m. It usually forms small, isolated populations.

Plants in the United States belong to Muhlenbergia villiflora var. villosa (Swallen) Morden. This variety differs from M. villiflora Hitchc. var. villiflora, which grows in Mexico, in its longer spikelets (1.8-2.5 mm versus 1.4-2.3 mm) and preference for calcareous, rather than gypsiferous, soils.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 154. FNA vol. 25, p. 175.
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. 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. wrightii, M. ×curtisetosa, M. ×involuta
Synonyms M. racemosa var. cinnoides, M. glomerata var. cinnoides
Name authority (Willd.) Trin. Hitchc.
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