Participant Info

Species

Muhlenbergia pungens

Family

Poaceae

CommonName

sandhill muhly, ring muhly

Presence

yes

Status

native

EarliestDate

1928

LatestDate

2023

Ecosystem

basin, foothill, ruderal

Geobotanical

Garitas, SSanjuans, UBasin, LBasin

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Rio Grande, Saguache

Passes

WildlifePreserves

Baca, Great Sand Dunes

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

Comments

Sandhill mulhy should be a readily identified Muhlenbergia, with its awned lemma and two-awned palea, its perennial and rhizomatous growth, and its "pungent" smell, which one observer compared to "freshly chopped cilantro." Be careful sniffing since its stiff pointed blades can penetrate the human skin. But note that the ring shape growth of Muhlenbergia pungens (with older plants) is not sufficient in itself to distinguish it from M. torreyi, a more common species in the Watershed. M. pungens is mainly a Basin grass, growing in sandy and calcareous soil where wind and erosion have left bare spots, although it has been vouchered from the foothills near Embargo Creek (Rio Grande Co), the south slope of Blanca Peak (Costilla Co), and the San Luis Hills (Conejos Co). Its USA distribution consists of similar habitat in Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and New Mexico, where the species follows the Rio Grande drainage down through the entire state but not into Texas.

Annotation