Muhlenbergia filiformis
Pull-up muhly
(c) Steve Matson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Poaceae · Type: Grass · Native
Muhlenbergia filiformis (Pull-up muhly) is a native California grass in the Poaceae family, recognized by annual habit with rooting nodes and narrow inflorescence.
Pull-up muhly is a California native annual grass found in northwestern California, Sierra Nevada, western Transverse Ranges, San Bernardino Mountains, San Jacinto Mountains, and Great Basin in moist meadows, seeps, and streambanks at elevations of 150 to 3,350 meters. Flowering from June to August, this delicate grass produces purple to yellow anthers with small, narrow inflorescences less than one centimeter wide. Growing with loosely clumped, decumbent stems 20 to 30 centimeters tall that root at lower nodes, it spreads across moist ground in loose clusters. Its thin leaves are 1 to 4 centimeters long and 1 to 2 millimeters wide, either flat or slightly rolled, with serrate ligules measuring 1 to 2.5 millimeters. The plant's compact, cylindrical flower clusters feature short lemmas with tiny awns less than one millimeter long.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 12 sympatric species; annual habit with rooting nodes and narrow inflorescence
Habitat and range
Habitat: Moist meadows, seeps, streambanks
Elevation: 150-3350 m
California counties: Fresno, El Dorado, Mono, Alpine, Calaveras, Placer, Plumas, Siskiyou, Butte, San Bernardino, Inyo, Tulare, Nevada, Shasta, Tehama, Amador, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Riverside, Humboldt, Lassen, Trinity, Madera, San Diego, Modoc, Del Norte, Glenn, Ventura, Yuba, Kern, Sierra, Colusa, Lake, Mendocino
Outside California: to British Columbia, central United States, New Mexico, Mexico
Bloom period
Muhlenbergia filiformis blooms Jun-Aug.
How to tell it apart
vs Cenchrus: Cenchrus has spiny burs enclosing seed clusters; Muhlenbergia has open panicles without spines.; vs Nassella: Nassella has prominent bent awns; Muhlenbergia awns are straight or absent.; vs Festuca: Festuca has multiple-flowered spikelets; Muhlenbergia typically has single-flowered spikelets in open panicles.; vs Carex: Carex (sedges) has triangular stems and separate male/female flowers; Muhlenbergia has round stems.; vs Juncus: Juncus (rushes) has tiny brown chaffy flowers in clusters; Muhlenbergia has typical grass spikelets.
Frequently asked questions
Is Muhlenbergia filiformis native to California?
Yes. Muhlenbergia filiformis is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Muhlenbergia filiformis bloom?
Muhlenbergia filiformis blooms Jun-Aug.
Where in California does Muhlenbergia filiformis grow?
Muhlenbergia filiformis occurs in Fresno, El Dorado, Mono, Alpine, Calaveras, Placer, Plumas, Siskiyou and other counties, at elevations of 150-3350 m.
What plant family does Muhlenbergia filiformis belong to?
Muhlenbergia filiformis is in the Poaceae family, genus Muhlenbergia.
What habitat does Muhlenbergia filiformis grow in?
Muhlenbergia filiformis grows in Moist meadows, seeps, streambanks.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.