Muhlenbergia montana

Mountain muhly

Family: Poaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Mountain muhly is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges and Sierra Nevada High Country on open slopes, granitic rock outcrops, and dry meadows at elevations of 1,640 to 3,420 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces delicate purple-tinted spikelets in loose, spreading panicles 4 to 15 centimeters long. Growing as a densely tufted grass with stems 10 to 40 centimeters tall, it forms compact clusters with slender, graceful growth. Its narrow leaves are flat to slightly rolled, 5 to 12 centimeters long and only 1 to 2.5 millimeters wide, with distinctive ligules 4 to 10 millimeters long. The plant's delicate purple anthers and soft-hairy lemmas add subtle texture to its elegant, airy appearance.

Habitat: Open slopes, granitic rock outcrops, dry meadows

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 1640-3420 m

Bioregions: KR, SNH

California counties: Mariposa, Tulare, Fresno, Siskiyou, El Dorado, Mono, Trinity, Amador, Inyo, Placer, Tuolumne, Madera, 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.