Plant Image
Plant - fall
Granite Mtn - Tr 308


Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants

Muhlenbergia rigens - deergrass

Synonyms: Epicampes rigens, Muhlenbergia marshii, Muhlenbergia mundula
Plant Form: Grass

Family: Poaceae


   
 
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Plant - fall
Little Thumb Butte
Sue Smith
Blade
Mingus Mtn - Gaddes Cyn Rd
Sue Smith
Seedhead
Mingus Mtn - Gaddes Cyn Rd
Sue Smith
Seedhead
Mingus Mtn - Gaddes Cyn Rd
Sue Smith
Spikelets
Mingus Mtn - Gaddes Cyn Rd
Sue Smith
Ligule
Mingus Mtn - Gaddes Cyn Rd
Sue Smith
  Grass Description -   Glossary of Grass Terminology


Origin: Native    Season: Warm
Habitat Description: Grows in sandy washes, gravelly canyon bottoms, rocky drainages, and moist, sandy slopes, often along small streams.
Plant Communities:Riparian
Elevation: 3000 - 7500 feet

Similar Species: Muhlenbergia emersleyi
General Description

Desc: Tall, stiffly erect bunchgrass with densely clumped stems from a hard knotty base.
Identification Notes: Tufted perennial grass without rhizomes; narrow seedheads, dense or spikelike 3 to 24 inches long; branches flowered from base; awnless; blades rolled inward; glumes sharp or rounded; ligule 1/16 inch long. Similar to bullgrass which has open seedheads.
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: Jul - Oct
Flower Characteristics

Number of Flowers per Spikelet: One-flowered  Spikelets One-sided: N
Awns: Absent   Three Awns: N  Awns Bent: N
Flower and Seedhead Notes: Seedhead long and narrow, spikelike, 3 to 24 inches long, less than 1/2 inch wide. Spikelets less than 1/8 inch long.
Vegetative Charcteristics

Blade Hairy: N    Blade with White Margins: N    Blade Cross section: Involute
Blade Notes: Blades 4 to 20 inches long, 1/16 to 1.4 inch wide, flat or mostly rolled inward and tapering to a thread-like tip, stiff, smooth below, rough on top.
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.


  Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590
Version 8.0  
http://cales.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetailGrass.php  
Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022
Content Questions/Comments: Email Matt Halldorson  
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