Muhlenbergia
Encyclopedia
Muhlenbergia is a genus of grass
in the Poaceae
family. It is named in honour of the American amateur botanist Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg
. There are around 155 species. Many are known by the common name muhly.
The greatest number are native to the southwestern United States
and Mexico
, but there are also native species in Central
and South America
and southeast Asia
. A few are native to Canada.
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
in the Poaceae
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
family. It is named in honour of the American amateur botanist Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg
Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg
Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg was an American clergyman and botanist.-Biography:The son of Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg, he was born in Trappe, Pennsylvania. He was educated at in Halle starting in 1763 and in 1769 at the University of Halle. He returned to Pennsylvania in September 1770...
. There are around 155 species. Many are known by the common name muhly.
The greatest number are native to the southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, but there are also native species in Central
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. A few are native to Canada.
Selected species
- Muhlenbergia andinaMuhlenbergia andinaMuhlenbergia andina, known by the common name Foxtail muhly, is a species of grass. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Texas. It grows in moist habitat such as meadows, marshes, and riparian riverbanks....
(Nutt.Thomas NuttallThomas Nuttall was an English botanist and zoologist, who lived and worked in America from 1808 until 1841....
) Hitchc.A. S. HitchcockAlbert Spear Hitchcock was an important American botanist and agrostologist. Specializing in grasses, he was the chief botanist for the USDA from 1928 until his death. He authored over 250 works during his lifetime....
– Foxtail Muhly - Muhlenbergia appressaMuhlenbergia appressaMuhlenbergia appressa, the common name Devils Canyon muhly, is a species of grass. It is native to the desert region where California and Arizona border Baja California...
C.O.Goodd. – Devil's Canyon Muhly - Muhlenbergia asperifoliaMuhlenbergia asperifoliaMuhlenbergia asperifolia is a species of grass known by the common name Scratchgrass. It is native to much of North America, including most of southern Canada, most of the continental United States except for the southeastern region, and parts of northern Mexico...
(NeesChristian Gottfried Daniel Nees von EsenbeckChristian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck was a prolific German botanist, physician, zoologist, and natural philosopher. He was a contemporary of Goethe and was born within the lifetime of Linnaeus. He described approximately 7,000 plant species...
& MeyenFranz MeyenFranz Julius Ferdinand Meyen was a German physician and botanist.Meyen was born in Tilsit. In 1830 he wrote Phytotomie, the first review of plant anatomy...
ex Trin.Carl Bernhard von TriniusCarl Bernhard von Trinius was a German-born botanist.Trinius was a specialist in grasses and described many species in his career including Agrostis pallens, Cenchrus agrimonioides and Festuca subulata....
) Parodi – Scratchgrass - Muhlenbergia californicaMuhlenbergia californicaMuhlenbergia californica is an uncommon species of grass known by the common name California muhly. It is endemic to California Transverse Ranges, where it is known only from the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California....
VaseyGeorge Vasey (botanist)George S. Vasey was an English-born American botanist who collected a lot in Illinois before integrating the United States Department of Agriculture , where he became Chief Botanist and curator of the greatly expanded National Herbarium.-Biography:George Vasey was born in 1822 in Snainton near...
– California Muhly - Muhlenbergia capillaris – Hairawn Muhly
- Muhlenbergia dumosa – Bamboo Muhly
- Muhlenbergia emersleyi – Bullgrass
- Muhlenbergia expansa – Cutover Muhly
- Muhlenbergia filiformisMuhlenbergia filiformisMuhlenbergia filiformis, known by the common name Pullup muhly, is a species of grass. It is native to western North America from western Canada through the Western United States to northern Mexico....
(Thurb. ex S.WatsonSereno WatsonSereno Watson was an American botanist.Graduating from Yale in 1847, he drifted through various occupations until, in California, he joined the Clarence King Expedition and eventually became its expedition botanist...
) Rydb.Per Axel RydbergPer Axel Rydberg was a Swedish-born, American botanist who was the first curator of the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium. -Biography:...
– Pullup Muhly - Muhlenbergia filipesMuhlenbergia filipesMuhlenbergia filipes, gulf hairawn muhly or sweetgrass, and syn. Muhlenbergia capillaris , is a species of grass in the Poaceae family. It is native to the Southeastern United States.-Seminole Basketry:...
M.A.CurtisMoses Ashley CurtisMoses Ashley Curtis was a noted American botanist.Curtis was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and educated at Williams College in Massachusetts. After graduating, he became a tutor for the children of former Governor Edward Bishop Dudley in Wilmington, North Carolina, returning to Massachusetts...
– Gulfhairawn Muhly, Sweetgrass - Muhlenbergia mexicanaMuhlenbergia mexicanaMuhlenbergia mexicana, known by the common names Mexican muhly and Wirestem muhly, is a species of grass. It is native to North America, including most of the United States and southern Canada...
(L.) Trin.Carl Bernhard von TriniusCarl Bernhard von Trinius was a German-born botanist.Trinius was a specialist in grasses and described many species in his career including Agrostis pallens, Cenchrus agrimonioides and Festuca subulata....
– Mexican Muhly - Muhlenbergia microspermaMuhlenbergia microspermaMuhlenbergia microsperma is a species of grass known by the common name littleseed muhly. It is native to the Americas from the Southwestern United States and California through Central America into Peru and Venezuela....
– Littleseed Muhly - Muhlenbergia minutissimaMuhlenbergia minutissimaMuhlenbergia minutissima is a species of grass known by the common name Annual muhly. It is native to North America, where it is found throughout the western United States and much of Mexico. It can be found in many habitat types, including disturbed areas.It is an annual bunchgrass growing 30...
– Annual Muhly - Muhlenbergia monandra Alegría & Rúgolo
- Muhlenbergia montanaMuhlenbergia montanaMuhlenbergia montana, with the common name Mountain muhly, is a species of grass. It is native to North and Central America, where it is found throughout the Western United States, the Sierra Nevada |Sierra Nevada]], Mexico, and Guatemala....
– Mountain Muhly - Muhlenbergia orophila
- Muhlenbergia palmirensisMuhlenbergia palmirensisMuhlenbergia palmirensis is a species of grass in the Poaceae family.It is found only in Ecuador.-Source:* Laegaard, S. & Pitman, N. 2004. . Downloaded on 20 July 2007....
Grignon & Lægaard - Muhlenbergia peruviana – Peruvian Muhly
- Muhlenbergia porteriMuhlenbergia porteriMuhlenbergia porteri is a species of grass known by the common name Bush muhly. It is native to North America, where it can be found throughout the Southwestern United States, California desert, and parts of Mexico. It grows in rocky, shrubby habitat....
– Bush Muhly - Muhlenbergia reverchonii – Seep Muhly
- Muhlenbergia richardsonisMuhlenbergia richardsonisMuhlenbergia richardsonis, known by the common name Mat muhly, is a species of grass. It is native to North America, where it can be found throughout much of Canada, Alaska, the western half of the contiguous United States through California, and in Baja California, Mexico.-Habitat:Muhlenbergia...
– Mat Muhly - Muhlenbergia rigensMuhlenbergia rigensMuhlenbergia rigens, commonly known as Deergrass, is a warm season perennial bunchgrass found in sandy or well drained soils below in elevation in the Southwestern United States and parts of Mexico.-Description:...
– Deergrass - Muhlenbergia schreberi – Nimblewill
- Muhlenbergia sylvatica – Woodland Muhly
- Muhlenbergia utilisMuhlenbergia utilisMuhlenbergia utilis is a species of grass known by the common name Aparejograss. It is native to North and Central America, where it can be found throughout the Southwestern United States and California, through Mexico, as far south as Costa Rica....
– Aparejograss