Bush Muhly
Muhlenbergia porteri
Image made using a flatbed from specimen found at Mesquite Wash, Maricopa County, Arizona.
SHRUBBY: A native shrubby grass with tough lower stems and crown. Clumps can spread out a meter or so wide.
LEAVES: Less than 2mm wide and up to 10 cm long.
STEMS/CULMS: A half meter to a full meter tall, sometimes branching.
FLOWERS: Broad, open panicled inflorescence with numerous purplish-red spiklets. Very graceful and attractive.
RANGE: Fairly common on rocky slopes in the Sonoran Desert but being threatened by Buffelgrass using the same habitats.