Talk:Muhlenbergia pungens/Temp

Muhlenbergia pungens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Spermatophyte
(unranked):	Monocotyledon
(unranked):	Commelinidae
Order:	Cyperales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Chloridoideae
Genus:	Muhlenbergia
Species:	M. pungens
Binomial name
Muhlenbergia pungens Thurb.

Muhlenbergia pungens, commonly known as sandhill muhly or wickiup grass, is a perennial bunchgrass native to Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota. 'M. pungens is a true grass of the Poaceae family, and, like other members of the Muhlenbergia genus, its narrow, flat-bladed leaves are green and its flowers are yellow.

Description

M. pungens is a perennial that grows to 4 to 24 inches (100 to 610 mm) tall. Its shoots arise from rhizomes covered in imbricated scales with short internodes. Its growth habit is typical of the genus, forming large mounds of grass, sometimes growing in a ring pattern aournd a center of dead growth.

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Ligules are 0.2 to 1 millimetre (0.0079 to 0.0394 in) long, with lateral lobes. The panicle is open, with a red or purple tinge. It has very pale and rigid leaves. The leaf blades are rolled inward, and are very narrow and sharply tipped. They are 1 to 2.5 inches (25 to 64 mm) long and smooth or with fine hairs.

Habitat and uses

Sandhill muhly is found on loose sand near dunes, on desert flats, and in desert shrub and open woodland communities. In Utah, sandhill muhly mostly grows on sand at elevations of 3,500 to 6,500 feet (1,100 to 2,000 m) in communities of desert shrubs and pinyon-junipers. The grass is common in sandy prairies in Nebraska. The grass there is found on the higher hills, and particularly on the edge of "blow-outs". In Arizona it is found in Apache, Navajo and Coconino counties, common on sandy mesas at 5,000 to 7,000 feet (1,500 to 2,100 m).

The grass grows during the spring and blooms in late summer. It does not tolerate shade. Sandhill muhly does not seem to be affected by grazing. Prairie fires cause the sandhill muhly to decline. It reduces wind erosion in very sandy areas. Although it is of little value as forage for livestock or other grazing animals, the Hopi people of Arizona reportedly used the plant to make brushes.

References

Citations

Sources

• Bessey, Charles Edwin; Webber, Herbert John (1890). Report of the botanist on the grasses and forage plants, and the catalogue of plants [of Nebraska]. Retrieved 20 October 2012. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Institute of Renewable Natural Resources (2012-01-25). Field Guide to Texas Grasses. Texas A&M University Press. p. 667. ISBN 978-1-60344-186-5. Retrieved 2012-10-10. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Kearney, Thomas H.; Peebles, Robert H (May 1942). Flowering Plants and Ferns of Arizona. US Department of Agriculture. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Kearney, Thomas H.; Peebles, Robert H. (1961-01-01). Arizona Flora, Second edition. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-00637-9. Retrieved 2012-10-20. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• "Muhlenbergia pungens Thurb". United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
• Nebraska. State Board of Agriculture (1890). Annual Report. s.n. p. 244. Retrieved 20 October 2012. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Samson, Fred B.; Knopf, Fritz L. (1996-08-01). Prairie Conservation: Preserving North America's Most Endangered Ecosystem. Island Press. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-55963-428-1. Retrieved 2012-10-10. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• "Sandhill Muhly (Muhlenbergia Pungens)". Sagebud. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
• "Sandhill Muhly". Utah State University. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
• Wolfe, Stephen; Thorpe, Jeffrey (2005). "Shifting Sands: Climate Change Impacts on Sand Hills in the Canadian Prairies and Implications for Land Use Management". In Radenbaugh, Todd A.; Sutter, Glenn C. (eds.). Managing Changing Prairie Landscapes. CPRC Press. ISBN 9780889771772. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Category:Muhlenbergia