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nimblewell, nimblewill, nimblewill muhly

bog muhly, muhlenbergie uniflore

Habit Plants perennial (appearing annual); usually cespitose, not rhizomatous, sometimes stoloniferous. Plants perennial; loosely matted.
Culms

10-45(70) cm, geniculate, often rooting at the lower nodes, glabrous or puberulent below the nodes;

internodes often smooth, shiny, glabrous.

5-45 cm, arising from the bases of old depressed culms, compressed-keeled, developing branches below the lower leaf nodes;

internodes mostly glabrous, sometimes minutely puberulent below the nodes.

Sheaths

shorter than the internodes, glabrous for most of their length, margins shortly (0.3-1.2 mm) pubescent distally, not becoming spirally coiled when old;

ligules 0.2-0.5 mm, truncate, erose, ciliate;

blades (1)3-10 cm long, 1-4.5 mm wide, flat, smooth or scabridulous.

longer than the internodes, keeled, keels scabridulous, not becoming papery or spirally coiled when old;

ligules 0.5-1.5 mm, membranous, truncate to obtuse, erose, without lateral lobes;

blades 1-15 cm long, 0.8-2 mm wide, flat to conduplicate, smooth or scabridulous abaxially, hirtellous adaxially, midveins thickened and whitish proximally.

Panicles

3-15 cm long, 1-1.6 cm wide, contracted, often interrupted below;

branches 0.4-5.5 cm, appressed or diverging up to 30° from the rachises, spikelet-bearing to the base;

pedicels 0.1-4 mm, scabrous to hirsute;

disarticulation above the glumes.

2-20 cm long, (0.2)2.5-6 cm wide, diffuse;

primary branches 0.4-6 cm long, about 0.1 mm thick, ascending, diverging 10-60° from the rachises, naked basally;

pedicels 0.2-7 mm, glabrous.

Spikelets

1.8-2.8 mm, borne singly.

1.3-2.1 mm, dark purplish to plumbeous, occasionally with 2 florets.

Glumes

unequal, shorter than the florets, thin and membranous throughout, unawned;

lower glumes lacking or rudimentary, veinless, rounded and often erose;

upper glumes 0.1-0.3 mm, veinless;

lemmas 1.8-2.8 mm, oblong-elliptic, mostly scabrous, calluses hairy, hairs to 0.8 mm, veins greenish, lower 1/4 of the midveins with a few appressed hairs, apices acute to acuminate, awned, awns 1.5-5 mm, straight;

paleas 1.8-2.8 mm, oblong-elliptic, acute to acuminate;

anthers 0.2-0.5 mm, yellow.

equal, 0.4-1.3 mm, glabrous, 1-veined, apices scabrous, acute to obtuse, sometimes erose or notched, unawned;

lemmas 1.2-2 mm, oblong-elliptic, dark purplish to plumbeous, glabrous, faintly 3-veined, apices acute to obtuse, unawned;

paleas 1.3-2.1 mm, oblong-elliptic, glabrous, acute to obtuse;

anthers 0.6-0.9 mm, dark purple.

Caryopses

1-1.4 mm, fusiform, brownish.

0.6-0.8 mm, ovoid, brownish.

2n

= 40, 42.

= 42.

Muhlenbergia schreberi

Muhlenbergia uniflora

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CT; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NH; NJ; NY; OR; PA; RI; VT; WI; BC; NB; NL; NS; ON; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Muhlenbergia schreberi grows in moist to dry woods and prairies on rocky slopes, in ravines, and along sandy riverbanks, at elevations of 60-1600 m. It is also common in disturbed sites near cultivated fields, pastures, and roads at these elevations. Its geographic range includes central, but not northern, Mexico. Records from the western United States probably reflect receent introductions. The species is considered a noxious, invasive weed in California.

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

Muhlenbergia uniflora grows in bogs, wet meadows, and lake shores in sandy or peaty, often acidic, soils, at elevations of 0-650 m. It is native to eastern North America, but was collected once in British Columbia, probably having been introduced from ship ballast, and was recently collected from a commercial cranberry bog in Oregon. The collection from Texas may also be an introduction.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 162. FNA vol. 25, p. 181.
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. 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. 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. utilis, M. villiflora, M. wrightii, M. ×curtisetosa, M. ×involuta
Synonyms M. palustris, M. diffusa
Name authority J.E Gmel. (Muhl.) Fernald
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