Species Detail Grasses

Seedhead - USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States. USDA Miscellaneous Publication No. 200. Washington, DC.		Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants Muhlenbergia arenicola - sand muhly Plant Form: Grass Family: Poaceae


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	Grass Description - Glossary of Grass Terminology Origin: Native Season: Warm Habitat Description: Grows on sandy mesas, limestone benches, and in valleys and open desert grasslands. Does well in dry conditions. Plant Communities:Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest Elevation: 4000 - 7000 feet Similar Species: M. torreyi, M. arizonica General Description Desc: Tufted perennial grass. Erect or reclining with ascending tips (decumbent) are 8 to 24 inches long with rough surfaces and short dense hairs in the vicinity of the nodes. Identification Notes: Erect perennial bunchgrass, basal clumps of thin, inrolled blades 2 to 5 inches long. Seedhead up to 12 inches long, spreading; branchlets and spikelet stems appressed; spikelets about 1/8 inch long, stems similar in length; glumes awn-tipped. Grass Type: Perennial bunchgrass Rhizomes: N Stolons: N Large Dense Clump (> 2 feet): N Bushy (highly branched): N Height with Seedheads: 24 to 36 inches Seedhead Structure: Branched - open and spreading Seedhead Droops: N Flowering Period: Jul - Oct Flower Characteristics Number of Flowers per Spikelet: One-flowered Spikelets One-sided: N Awns: Less than 1/4 inch Three Awns: N Awns Bent: N Flower and Seedhead Notes: Seedhead is 4 to 12 inches long and 2 to 8 inches wide. Primary branches are spreading but branchlets and pedicels are often somewhat appressed. Elliptical, purplish spikelets have glumes of equal length; one or both awn-tipped. Vegetative Charcteristics Blade Hairy: N Blade with White Margins: N Blade Cross section: Involute Blade Notes: Blades are 2 to 5 inches long, less than 1/16 inch wide with rough, waxy coated surfaces. Leaves are usually folded to rolled inward, midveins and margins are green, not thickened. Sheath Hairy: N Tuft of Hairs at top of Sheath or Collar: N Ligules: Membranous Auricles (Ear-like lobes at collar area: N Forage Value: This densely tufted perennial grass grows close to the soil surface and provides very little forage.


	Arizona Cooperative Extension Yavapai County 840 Rodeo Dr #C Prescott, AZ 86305 (928) 445-6590	Version 8.0 http://cales.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetailGrass.php Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022 Content Questions/Comments: Email Matt Halldorson Legal Disclaimer