Muhlenbergia brevis

CO. Goodd.
Common names: Short muhly
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 25. Treatment on page 196.

Plants annual; tufted. Culms 3-20 cm. Sheaths often longer than the internodes, somewhat inflated, smooth or scabrous; ligules 1-3 mm, membranous, acute, lacerate, sometimes with lateral lobes; blades 1-4.5 cm long, 0.8-2 mm wide, flat to involute, scabrous to strigose, midveins and margins thickened, whitish. Panicles 3-11.5 cm long, 0.8-1.8 cm wide, contracted; primary branches 1-3.7 cm, closely appressed, spikelets usually in subsessile-pedicellate pairs; pedicels 0.2-8 mm, stout, closely appressed, scabrous; disarticulation beneath the spikelet pairs. Spikelets 2.5-6 mm. Glumes to 2/3 as long as the lemmas; lower glumes 2-3.5 mm, subulate, 2-veined, minutely to deeply bifid, with 2 aristate teeth or awns to 1.8 mm; upper glumes 2.4-4 mm, entire, acuminate to attenuate, 1-veined, awned, awns to 2 mm; lemmas 3.5-6 mm, narrowly lanceolate, light greenish-brown to purplish, scabrous, appressed-pubescent on the margins and midveins, apices acuminate, often bifid, awned, awns usually 10-20 mm, stiff; paleas 4-6 mm, narrowly lanceolate, intercostal region appressed-pubescent, apices acuminate; anthers 0.5-0.9 mm, purplish to yellowish. Caryopses 2-2.8 mm, narrowly fusiform, brownish. 2n = 20.

Distribution

Ariz., Colo., N.Mex., Tex.

Discussion

Muhlenbergia brevis grows on rocky slopes, gravelly flats, and rock outcrops, particularly those derived from calcareous parent materials, at elevations of 1700-2500 m, in gramma grasslands, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and pine-oak woodlands. Its range extends from the southwestern United States to central Mexico.

Like Muhlenbergia depauperata, M. brevis shares several features with Lycurus, notably the paired spikelets with 2-veined and 2-awned lower glumes, 1-veined and awned upper glumes, acuminate, awned lemmas with shortly pubescent margins, and pubescent paleas.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"decumbent" is not a number.

... more about "Muhlenbergia brevis"
purplish +  and yellowish +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.09 cm0.9 mm <br />9.0e-4 m <br />) +
awned +  and bifid +
acuminate +
Paul M. Peterson +
CO. Goodd. +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
sinuous +, flexuous +  and straight +
multiple +, , +  and single +
curled +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
keeled +  and rounded +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
not fused +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
membranous +
not pseudopetiolate +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (4.5 cm45 mm <br />0.045 m <br />) +
scabrous +  and strigose +
flat +  and involute +
0.08 cm0.8 mm <br />8.0e-4 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
spikelike +
with hairs +  and glabrous +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.28 cm2.8 mm <br />0.0028 m <br />) +
triangular +  and dome--shaped +
sometimes longer +
membranous +
Short muhly +
geniculate +
3 cm30 mm <br />0.03 m <br /> (20 cm200 mm <br />0.2 m <br />) +
Ariz. +, Colo. +, N.Mex. +  and Tex. +
not waisted +
capillary +
pistillate +  and staminate +
bisexual +  and fertile +
round +  and compressed +
reduced +
(0)1(2-3)-veined +
shorter or longer +
subtending +
0 +  and 2/3 +
uncinate +
paniculate +  and racemose +
appressed-pubescent +
hollow +  and solid +
not absent +
light greenish-brown +  and purplish +
appressed-pubescent +
lanceolate +
0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
lacerate +  and acute +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
membranous +
inconspicuous +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.35 cm3.5 mm <br />0.0035 m <br />) +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 1 +
subsessile-pedicellate +
lanceolate +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
3cm +  and 11.5cm +
cleistogamous +
spikelike +
0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br /> (1.8 cm18 mm <br />0.018 m <br />) +
0.02 cm0.2 mm <br />2.0e-4 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
dry +  and fleshy +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (3.7 cm37 mm <br />0.037 m <br />) +
spikelike +
inflated +
1 +  and 60 +
compressed +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
compound +  and simple +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
Gramineae +
Muhlenbergia brevis +
Muhlenbergia +
species +
membranous +
aristate +
shorter than to longer than the florets +
acuminate +  and attenuate +
0.24 cm2.4 mm <br />0.0024 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
7 (?) +  and 13 (?) +
stoloniferous +  and rhizomatous +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +
dioecious +, monoecious +  and synoecious +