Muhlenbergia richardsonis
Muhlenbergia thurberi
mat muhly, Matted muhly, muhlenbergie de Richardson, Richardson's muhly, soft-leaf muhly
Thurber's muhly
5-30 cm tall, 0.4-1 mm thick, decumbent, geniculate, or erect;
internodes usually nodulose (occasionally smooth) for most of their length, puberulent or nodulose below the nodes.
12-36 cm tall, 0.3-0.5 mm thick, often clumped, usually erect, somewhat decumbent at the base;
internodes mostly or completely glabrous, sometimes strigose below the nodes.
shorter or longer than the internodes, glabrous;
ligules 0.8-3 mm, membranous, acute to truncate, erose;
blades 0.4-6.5 cm long, 0.5-4.2 mm wide, flat or involute, straight or arcuate-spreading, glabrous abaxially, hirtellous adaxially.
shorter than the internodes, hirtellous near the margins;
ligules 0.9-1.2 mm, membranous, truncate to obtuse, erose;
blades 0.2-3.7 cm long, 0.2-1 mm wide, tightly involute, straight to arcuate, smooth or scabridulous abaxially, hirtellous adaxially.
1-15 cm long, 0.1-1.7 cm wide, exserted, narrow or spikelike, rachises usually concealed by the branches;
primary branches 0.4-5 cm, usually closely appressed at maturity, rarely diverging up to 20° from the rachises;
pedicels 0.2-2 mm, setulose.
0.7-5.5 cm long, 0.2-0.7 cm wide, contracted, not dense, sometimes interrupted below;
primary branches 0.4-1.8 cm, appressed;
pedicels 0.1-4 mm.
1.7-3.1 mm, occasionally with 2 florets.
2.6-4 mm.
subequal, 0.6-2 mm, 1/3– 1/2 as long as the lemmas, green, 1(2)-veined, acute, sometimes mucronate, mucros less than 0.2 mm;
lemmas 1.7-2.6(3.1) mm, lanceolate, dark greenish, plumbeous, or mottled, glabrous, apices scabridulous, acute to acuminate, sometimes mucronate, mucros to 0.5 mm;
paleas 1.2-2.4(2.9) mm, lanceolate, acute;
anthers 0.9-1.6 mm, yellow to purplish.
subequal, 1.6-3 mm, 1-veined, scabridulous on the veins, acute, unawned;
lemmas 2.6-4 mm, lanceolate, hairy on the lower 3/4, hairs to 1.2 mm, tawny, apices acuminate, unawned or awned, awns to 1 mm;
paleas 2.6-4 mm, lanceolate, intercostal region tawny pubescent;
anthers 2.1-2.3 mm, yellowish-purple.
0.9-1.6 mm, narrowly ellipsoid, brown.
2-2.2 mm, fusiform, light brownish.
= 40.
= unknown.
Muhlenbergia richardsonis
Muhlenbergia thurberi
Muhlenbergia richardsonis grows in open sites in alkaline meadows, prairies, sandy arroyo bottoms, talus slopes, rocky flats and the shores of rivers, at elevations of 60-3300 m. It is the most widespread species of Muhlenbergia in the Flora region, extending from the Yukon Territory to Quebec in the north and to northern Baja California, Mexico, in the south. Morden and Hatch (1996) reported that it also grows in Alaska, but no voucher specimen has been located.
Muhlenbergia richardsonis is often confused with M. cuspidata, which differs in lacking rhizomes and having shorter ligules, and sometimes with M. filiformis, which differs in being a weak annual with glabrous internodes and obtuse, erose glumes.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Muhlenbergia thurberi usually grows in moist soil in seeps near canyon cliffs, sandstone slopes, and rocky ledges, at elevations of 1350-2300 m. The species appears to be restricted to the southwestern United States. It flowers from July to September.
Muhlenbergia thurberi resembles M. curtifolia, but differs in its tightly involute blades, and longer anthers and ligules. The two species have been found growing within 50 m of each other in Apache County, Arizona, but in different habitats, M. curtifolia growing in a damp drainage areas whereas M. thurberi grew near a moist but dryer canyon cliff.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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