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 Plant - fall Little Thumb ButteSue Smith |  Blade Willow Dells TrSue Smith |  Spikelets Willow Dells TrSue Smith |  Seedhead Mingus Mtn - Yeager CynSue Smith |  Seedhead Mingus Mtn - Yeager CynSue Smith |  Ligule Willow Dells TrSue Smith |
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Origin: Native Season: Warm
Habitat Description: Rocky slopes and ledges, forest openings, mostly in dry soil.
Plant Communities:Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest
Elevation: 3500 - 6500 feet
Similar Species: Muhlenbergia rigens, M. longiligula
Desc:
Large clump with a hard, knotty base. Tall often over 3 feet; large contracted seedhead. Ligules long thin, often frayed.
Identification Notes: Tufted, 2 to 4 feet tall perennial, erect stems in large clumps; seedheads loose, branches naked at the base; blades more than 3 inches long; sheaths without hairs. M. rigens has contracted seedhheads and M. longiligula hairy florets.
Grass Type: Perennial bunchgrass Rhizomes: N Stolons: N
Large Dense Clump (> 2 feet): Y Bushy (highly branched): N
Height with Seedheads: Greater than 36 inches
Seedhead Structure: Branched - contracted Seedhead Droops: N
Flowering Period: Jun - Nov
Number of Flowers per Spikelet: One-flowered Spikelets One-sided: N
Awns: 1/4 inch to 1 inch Three Awns: N Awns Bent: N
Flower and Seedhead Notes: Seedhead usually dense and contracted, erect or nodding, branches rather long but never wide-spreading, naked towards the base. Glumes awnless, lemmas hairy at the base and usually with an awn of less than 1/16 inch.
Blade Hairy:
N
Blade with White Margins:
N
Blade Cross section:
Flat or folded
Blade Notes:
Blades 1/16 to 1/4 inch wide, 8 to 20 inches long, flat or folded, roughened with stout projections below, smooth or slightly rough above.
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:
Poor due to coarseness.
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