Bush Muhly Grass
Author: Ray Bowers

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Species: Muhlenbergia poteri

Description:
Bush muhly is a perennial grass that is 25 to 80cm (10 to 31in) tall. The round stems are stiff and wiry with many branches. The stems have Joints or nodes that are 1.5 to 6cm (0.5 to 2.4in) apart.

Geographic Range:
Bush muhly is found from southern California east to west Texas, and from Colorado south to central Mexico. In New Mexico it is found in the southern third of the state extending north up the central counties.

Habitat:
Bush muhly is found on gravelly slopes, brushy flats, and along arroyos. These plants are especially common around and under desert shrubs, giving this grass its common name.

Reproduction and Development:
The flowers bloom from July through October at the end of a many-branched purple flower arrangement called a panicle. A single flower is present in each spikelet that is widely spaced on the branches. The lemmas are 3 to 4mm (0.2 to 0.3in) long with a 5 to 10mm hair-like structure at the end called an awl. The wind is the pollination agent.

Other info:

• Bush muhly is a good source of food for browsing herbivores, which may damage the bush to get to the grass growing below the bush.
  
• The genus name honors a Pennsylvania plant scientist by the name of Gotthilf Muhlenberg.
  
• The Genus name is to honor a Spanish botanist by the name of Cladius Boutelou.

References:
Allred, Kelly W. 2000. A Field Guide to the Flora of the Jornada Plain. Las Cruces: NMSU Department of Animal and Range Science.

Allred, Kelly W. 1997. A Field Guide to the Grasses of New Mexico. Las Cruces: NMSU Department of Agricultural Communication.

Gould, Frank W. 1975. The Grasses of Texas. College Station, Texas: Texas A & M University Press.

Wooton, E.O. and Paul C. Standley. 1915. Flora of New Mexico. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, Vol 19. Washington: Government Printing Office.

Related Terms: Magnoliophyta, Liliopsida