Muhlenbergia racemosa (Michx.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.
satin grass (marsh muhly)
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
satin grass (marsh muhly)
Poaceae (Grass family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
Species Information
General:
Perennial grass from scaly rhizomes; stems hollow, erect, nearly circular in cross-section, tapered to slightly flattened, often branching above, more or less short-hairy at and adjacent to the nodes, the internodes smooth and polished except near the tips, 30-110 cm tall.
Leaves:
Sheaths minutely rough, slightly keeled; blades flat, rough, minutely rough or occasionally smooth, 2-17 cm long, 2-5 mm wide; ligules membranous, finely jagged and fringed with fine hairs, squared-off at the tips, 0.6-1.5 (1.7) mm long.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a narrow, spikelike, contracted, densely flowered, lobed panicle, 0.8-16 cm long, 0.3-1.8 cm wide, the branches 0.2-2.5 cm long, tightly appressed; spikelets 1-flowered, often unstalked or short-stalked, glumes narrow, 1-nerved, smooth to minutely rough near the tips, nearly equal, (3) 4-7 (8) mm long, the tips long-pointed to slender awned, the awns equalling or longer than the bodies, 4-5 mm long, 1.3 to 2 times longer than the lemmas; lemmas lanceolate, soft-hairy in the lower half along midnerves and margins, minutely rough, unawned to awned, 2.2-3.8 mm long including the long-pointed or short-awned tips, the awns up to 1 mm long, the calluses short soft-hairy, the hairs 0.7-1.5 mm long; paleas lanceolate, loosely soft-hairy between nerves on the lower half, the tips long-pointed, 2.2-3.8 (4.5) mm long; anthers 0.4-0.7 mm long, yellowish.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Green
Blooming Period:
Late Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Habitat and Range
Moist to dry slopes, open forests and rocky areas in the steppe and montane zones; rare in SC BC, known recently only from Spences Bridge; E to PQ and S to ME, VA, IN, IL, MO, TX, NM, AZ and OR.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Agrostis racemosa Michx.
Muhlenbergia glomerata var. cinnoides (Link) F.J. Herm.
Muhlenbergia racemosa var. cinnoides (Link) B. Boivin