Muhlenbergia rigens
| Muhlenbergia rigens | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Genus: | Muhlenbergia |
| Species: | M. rigens |
| Binomial name | |
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Muhlenbergia rigens (Benth.) Hitchc. |
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Muhlenbergia rigens, commonly known as deergrass, is a warm season perennial bunchgrass found in sandy or well drained soils below 7,000 feet (2,100 m) in elevation in the Southwestern United States and parts of Mexico.
The plant Muhlenbergia rigens is characterized by dense, tufted basal foliage consisting of narrow pointed leaves that reach lengths of about 3 feet (0.91 m) and range in color from light silver-green to purple. The spikelike stems are less than half an inch wide and 3–4 feet (0.91–1.22 m) in length. During bloom, the numerous flowered panicles often reach heights of five feet and terminate in a single awnless floret with a 3-nerved lemma. Deergrass is characteristic of tallgrass prairie of much of the Western United States.
The native range of the grass extends north into Shasta County, California, and south into New Mexico, Texas and Mexico. There it inhabits a wide range of ecotypes including grassland, riparian, chaparral, mixed conifer, and oak woodland communities. Deergrass can grow in areas with periodic flooding, but cannot tolerate standing water and poorly drained soils. It prefers full sun but is shade-tolerant.
The young shoots are browsed by a variety of animals, but with age the plant becomes unpalatable and is useful in an exposed garden setting for its deer resistance. It has also been used for erosion prevention and streambank stabilization because of extensive root systems. Restoration efforts currently use deergrass to displace exotic invasive annuals that dominate current grassland ecosystems as well as remediate overtilled and eroded agricultural land where they anchor loose soils and return lost organic matter. Phytoremediative studies have also been conducted to test deergrass’s ability to remove chemicals from agricultural runoff. Deergrass’s dense stands and extensive roots act as a biofilter effective for herbicide, pesticide and particulate removal and breakdown.
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Wikipedia