Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Share

Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

Enter a Plant Name:
Or you can choose a plant family:

Muhlenbergia montana

Muhlenbergia montana (Nutt.) Hitchc.

Mountain Muhly

Poaceae (Grass Family)

Synonym(s): Muhlenbergia trifida

USDA Symbol: MUMO

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

Mountain Muhly is a strongly tufted perennial grass, 8-32 in. tall, with loose, narrow panicles and light-green leaves.

The genus of this plant is named for Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg (1753-1815), also Heinrich Ludwig Muehlenberg, or Henry Muhlenberg, who was a German-educated Lutheran minister and the first president of Franklin College, now Franklin and Marshall College, Pennsylvania. He is most famous due to his work in the field of botany. An accomplished botanist, chemist, and minerologist, Henry is credited with classifying and naming 150 species of plants in his 1785 work Index Flora Lancastriensis. Muhlenberg's work and collaboration with European botanists led to great advances in the study of plants and earned him the distinction as America's first outstanding botanist.

 

From the Image Gallery

No images of this plant

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Grass/Grass-like
Root Type: Fibrous
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Leaf Venation: Parallel
Fruit Type: Caryopsis
Size Notes: Up to about 32 inches tall.
Leaf: Green

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Yellow
Bloom Time: Jun , Jul

Distribution

USA: AZ , CA , CO , MT , NM , TX , UT , WY
Native Distribution: WY to TX & s. Mex., w. to UT & CA; one collection from MT, locality unknown
Native Habitat: Rocky mt. slopes, canyons, mesas & forest openings

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry
CaCO3 Tolerance: High
Soil Description: Rocky soils.

Propagation

Description: Sow seed.
Seed Treatment: No treatment is necessary.
Commercially Avail: yes

Find Seed or Plants

Find seed sources for this species at the Native Seed Network.

View propagation protocol from Native Plants Network.

National Wetland Indicator Status

Region:AGCPAKAWCBEMPGPHIMWNCNEWMVE
Status: UPL FACU UPL
This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.1 (Lichvar, R.W. 2013. The National Wetland Plant List: 2013 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2013-49: 1-241). Click here for map of regions.

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Native Seed Network - Corvallis, OR

Web Reference

Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.

Additional resources

USDA: Find Muhlenbergia montana in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Muhlenbergia montana in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Muhlenbergia montana

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-01-25
Research By: TWC Staff

Go back