Muhlenbergia
Family: Poaceae
Muhlenbergia image
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Paul M. Peterson. Flora of North America
Plants annual or perennial; usually rhizomatous, often cespitose, sometimes mat-forming, rarely stoloniferous. Culms 2-300 cm, erect, geniculate, or decumbent, usually herbaceous, sometimes becoming woody. Sheaths open; ligules membranous or hyaline (rarely firm or coriaceous), acuminate to truncate, sometimes minutely ciliolate, sometimes with lateral lobes longer than the central portion; blades narrow, flat, folded, or involute, sometimes arcuate. Inflorescences terminal, sometimes also axillary, open to contracted or spikelike panicles; disarticulation usually above the glumes, occasionally below the pedicels. Spikelets with 1(2-3) florets. Glumes usually (0)1(2-3)-veined, apices entire, erose, or toothed, truncate to acuminate, sometimes mucronate or awned; lower glumes sometimes rudimentary or absent, occasionally bifid; upper glumes shorter than to longer than the florets; calluses poorly developed, glabrous or with hairs; lemmas glabrous, scabrous, or with short hairs, 3-veined (occasionally appearing 5-veined), apices awned, mucronate, or unawned; awns, if present, straight, flexuous, sinuous, or curled, sometimes borne between 2 minute teeth; paleas shorter than or equal to the lemmas, 2-veined; anthers (1-2)3, purple, orange, yellow, or olivaceous. Caryopses elongate, fusiform or elliptic, slightly dorsally compressed. Cleistogamous panicles sometimes present in the axils of the lower cauline leaves, enclosed by a tightly rolled, somewhat indurate sheath. x = 10. Named for Gotthilf Henry Ernest Muhlenberg (1753-1815), a Lutheran minister and pioneer botanist of Pennsylvania.
Vascular plants of NE US and adjacent Canada
Spikelets 1-fld (casually 2-fld in a few spp.), articulated above the glumes; glumes usually equal or subequal, seldom very unequal, subulate to ovate, keeled, 1-veined or rarely 2-3-veined or veinless, membranous or scarious toward the margins, acute to subulate or rarely truncate, often awned, the body shorter to a little longer than that of the lemma; first glume rarely obsolete; lemma membranous, laterally compressed but rounded on the back, 3-veined, acute to subulate, sometimes awned from the tip; palea nearly as long as the lemma; callus often bearded; style-branches naked; rachilla not prolonged; fr permanently enclosed by the lemma; our spp. perennial, often freely branched, bearing open or contracted panicles of small spikelets. 100, mainly New World.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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Species within checklist: Walnut Canyon National Monument
Muhlenbergia alopecuroides
Image of Muhlenbergia alopecuroides
Muhlenbergia curtifolia
Image of Muhlenbergia curtifolia
Muhlenbergia minutissima
Image of Muhlenbergia minutissima
Muhlenbergia montana
Image of Muhlenbergia montana
Muhlenbergia pauciflora
Image of Muhlenbergia pauciflora
Muhlenbergia racemosa
Image of Muhlenbergia racemosa
Muhlenbergia rigens
Image of Muhlenbergia rigens
Muhlenbergia tenuifolia
Image of Muhlenbergia tenuifolia
Muhlenbergia thurberi
Image of Muhlenbergia thurberi
Muhlenbergia wrightii
Image of Muhlenbergia wrightii