Muhlenbergia montana

(Nutt.) Hitchc.
Common names: Mountain muhly
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 25. Treatment on page 183.

Plants perennial; cespitose, not rhizomatous. Culms 10-80 cm, erect, rounded near the base; internodes glabrous. Sheaths smooth or scabridulous, becoming flattened, papery, and occasionally spirally coiled when old, lower sheaths longer than the internodes; ligules 4-14 (20) mm, membranous, acute to acuminate; blades 6-25 cm long, 1-2.5 mm wide, flat, becoming involute, scabrous abaxially, hirsute adaxially. Panicles 4-25 cm long, (1) 2-6 cm wide, not dense; primary branches 0.5-10 cm, appressed or diverging up to 40° from the rachises; pedicels 0.5-6.5 mm, scabrous. Spikelets 3-7 mm. Glumes subequal, (1) 1.5-3.2 (4) mm, smooth or scabridulous distally; lower glumes 1-veined, sometimes with a less than 1 mm awn; upper glumes 1/3–2/3 as long as the lemmas, 3-veined, truncate to acute, 3-toothed, teeth sometimes awned, awns to 1.6 mm; lemmas 3-4.5 (7) mm, lanceolate, loosely to densely appressed-pubescent on the lower portion of the midveins and margins, hairs to 0.8 mm, apices acute to acuminate, awned, awns (2) 6-25 mm, flexuous; paleas 3-4.5 (7) mm, lanceolate, acute to acuminate; anthers 1.5-2.3 mm, purplish. Caryopses 1.8-2 mm, fusiform, light-brown. 2n = 20, 40.

Distribution

Colo., N.Mex., Tex., Utah, Calif., Mont., Ariz., Wyo.

Discussion

Muhlenbergia montana grows on rocky slopes and ridge tops and in dry meadows and open grasslands, at elevations of 1400-3500 m. Its range extends from the western United States to Guatemala. Muhlenbergia montana is sometimes difficult to distinguish from M. filiculmis, but that species has shorter spikelets and lemma awns and tightly involute or filiform, sharp blades.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"decumbent" is not a number.

... more about "Muhlenbergia montana"
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.23 cm2.3 mm <br />0.0023 m <br />) +
acute +  and acuminate +
Paul M. Peterson +
(Nutt.) Hitchc. +
1 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (?) +
flexuous +
multiple +, , +  and single +
curled +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
keeled +  and rounded +
pseudopetiolate +  and branching +
not fused +
intravaginal +, extravaginal +, branching +  and basal +
swelling +
membranous +
not pseudopetiolate +
6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br /> (25 cm250 mm <br />0.25 m <br />) +
involute +, folded +  and flat +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
spikelike +
with hairs +  and glabrous +
0.18 cm1.8 mm <br />0.0018 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
triangular +  and dome--shaped +
sometimes longer +
membranous +
Mountain muhly +
rounded +
10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br /> (80 cm800 mm <br />0.8 m <br />) +
Colo. +, N.Mex. +, Tex. +, Utah +, Calif. +, Mont. +, Ariz. +  and Wyo. +
not waisted +
capillary +
pistillate +  and staminate +
bisexual +  and fertile +
round +  and compressed +
reduced +
(0)1(2-3)-veined +
shorter or longer +
subtending +
scabridulous +  and smooth +
subequal +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.32 cm3.2 mm <br />0.0032 m <br />) +
uncinate +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (0.08 cm0.8 mm <br />8.0e-4 m <br />) +
paniculate +  and racemose +
hollow +  and solid +
not absent +
appressed-pubescent +
lanceolate +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br />) +
acute +  and acuminate +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (1.4 cm14 mm <br />0.014 m <br />) +
membranous +
inconspicuous +
concealed +  and prominent +
2 +  and 1 +
acute +  and acuminate +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.45 cm4.5 mm <br />0.0045 m <br />) +
4cm +  and 25cm +
cleistogamous +
spikelike +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
0.05 cm0.5 mm <br />5.0e-4 m <br /> (0.65 cm6.5 mm <br />0.0065 m <br />) +
dry +  and fleshy +
diverging;appressed +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (10 cm100 mm <br />0.1 m <br />) +
spikelike +
scabridulous +  and smooth +
flattened +
1 +  and 60 +
compressed +
0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br /> (0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
compound +  and simple +
2 (?) +  and 3 (?) +
Gramineae +
Muhlenbergia montana +
Muhlenbergia +
species +
membranous +
shorter than to longer than the florets +
1/3 +  and 2/3 +
3-toothed +, truncate +  and acute +
7 (?) +  and 13 (?) +
plant +  and cespitose +
aquatic +  and terrestrial +
dioecious +, monoecious +  and synoecious +