The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

muhlenbergie tenue, slender muhly, slender satin grass, slimflower muhly

Navajo muhly, tough muhly

Habit Plants perennial; rhizomatous, not cespitose. Plants perennial; rhizomatous, rhizomes sometimes short and the plants loosely cespitose.
Culms

40-120 cm tall, less than 2 mm thick, erect;

internodes mostly pubescent, retrorsely hirsute to strigose below the nodes.

10-50 cm tall, 0.4-1 mm thick, decumbent;

internodes glabrous or strigulose.

Sheaths

mostly glabrous, usually pubescent near the base, scabridulous distally;

ligules 0.4-1.2 mm, membranous, truncate, ciliolate;

blades 6-20 cm long, 4-10(15) mm wide, flat, glabrous and smooth abaxially, occasionally scabridulous adaxially.

shorter than the internodes, strigulose or glabrous, usually without necrotic spots, not becoming spirally coiled when old;

ligules 1-2 mm, membranous throughout, obtuse, strigulose or glabrous, erose or toothed, with lateral lobes, lobes less than 1.5 mm longer than the central portion;

blades 1-6 cm long, 1-2 mm wide, flat to involute, smooth or scabridulous abaxially, hirsute adaxially, usually without necrotic spots.

Panicles

usually terminal, 10-33 cm long, 0.2-0.8 cm wide, exserted;

branches 1-10 cm, ascending to appressed;

pedicels 1-6 mm, strigose.

4-13 cm long, 1-3(5) cm wide, not dense;

primary branches 0.5-4 cm, appressed or diverging up to 30° from the rachises, spikelet-bearing to the base;

pedicels 0.1-3 mm.

Spikelets

2.6-4.5 mm, overlapping the next spikelet on the branch by 1/4 of its length.

3.5-5 mm.

Glumes

subequal, 1.3-3 mm, shorter than the lemmas, 1-veined (lower glumes rarely 2- or 3-veined), tapering from near the base, bases overlapping, apices scabridulous, acute, unawned or awned, awns to 1 mm;

lemmas 2.6-4.5 mm, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, usually pubescent on the calluses, lower 1/3 of the midveins, and margins (hairs sometimes restricted to the callus), hairs shorter than 1.2 mm, apices acute or acuminate, usually awned, awns to 12 mm;

paleas 2.6-4.5 mm, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, shortly pilose on the lower portion, apices acuminate;

anthers 1.1-2.2 mm, yellowish.

subequal, 2-4 mm, exceeded by the florets, 1-veined, scabrous on the veins and near the apices, apices acuminate, unawned or awned, awns to 1.2 mm;

lemmas 3.5-5 mm, lanceolate, mostly purplish, veins conspicuously green, pubescent on the lower 1/3-1/2 of the midveins and margins, hairs to 1.5 mm, apices scabridulous, acuminate, awned, awns 4-12(20) mm, flexuous;

paleas 3.5-5 mm, narrow-lanceolate, intercostal region pubescent, apices acuminate, veins sometimes extending into awns to 0.5 mm;

anthers 1.3-3 mm, purple.

Caryopses

2-2.3 mm, fusiform, brown.

2-2.3 mm, fusiform, brownish.

2n

= 40.

= unknown.

Muhlenbergia tenuiflora

Muhlenbergia arsenei

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; MI; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NM; NV; UT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Muhlenbergia tenuiflora grows only in the Flora region, usually being found on sandy or rocky slopes derived from sandstone, chert, or limestone formations, in mixed hardwood and oak-hickory forests, at elevations of 40-1500 m. It resembles the Asiatic species M. curviaristata (Ohwi) Ohwi.

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

Muhlenbergia arsenei grows among granitic boulders, on rocky slopes, limestone rock outcrops, and in arroyos, at elevations of 1400-2850 m. Its range extends from the southwestern United States into Baja California, Mexico. It flowers from August to September.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 160. FNA vol. 25, p. 169.
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. schreberi, M. sericea, M. setifolia, M. sinuosa, M. sobolifera, M. spiciformis, M. straminea, M. sylvatica, 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. 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. tenuiflora var. variabilis
Name authority (Willd.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb. Hitchc.
Web links