Muhlenbergia arsenei

Tough muhly, Tough Muhly

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

Tough muhly is a rare (CNPS 2B.3) California native perennial found in the Clark Mountain Range in limestone rock outcrops and slopes at elevations of 1,400 to 1,860 meters. Flowering from August to September, this plant produces purple-tinged flowers in narrow inflorescences 4 to 12 centimeters long with loosely arranged branches. Growing with decumbent stems 15 to 40 centimeters tall, it forms tufts with occasional short rhizomes. Its narrow leaves are tightly rolled, less than 2 millimeters wide and 1 to 5 centimeters long, with distinctive ligules 1 to 2 millimeters long that have a large tooth on each side. The plant's delicate purple anthers and soft-hairy lemmas add to its distinctive appearance.

Habitat: Limestone rock outcrops, slopes

Bloom period: Aug-Sep

Elevation: 1400-1860 m

Bioregions: DMtns (Clark Mtn Range)

California counties: San Bernardino

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.