HOW TO KNOW THE GRASSES 



48a. Panicle very narrow, the short branches bearing spikelets nearly 

 to their bases 49 



48b. Panicle broad, open, the spikelets borne near the tips of the 

 branches 50 



49a. Awn shorter than the lemma or lacking. Fig. 232. 



Muhlenbergia cuspidata (Torr.) Rydb. 



Perennial; tufted; culms slender and wiry, 

 20 — 40 cm, tall; ligules minute; panicles very 

 slender. Dry hills and prairies. July — Sep- 

 tember. 



Muhlenbergia wrightii Vasey (SPIKE 

 MUHLY) is similar but has a denser pani- 

 cle, somewhat like timothy. The ligule is 

 1 — 2 mm. long. It is on important grazing 

 grass on open or bushy ranges, ponderosa 

 pine forests, from southern Colorado and 

 Utah southward. 



Figure 232 



49b. Awn 1 — several times as long as the lemma. Fig. 233. 



BULLGRASS Muhlenbergia emersleyi Vasey 



Perennial; in large tufts; culms tall and 

 stout, 50 — 100 cm. tall; sheaths glabrous, 

 flattened and keeled; lower leaf blades up 

 to 50 cm. long; blades flat or folded, rough, 

 1 — 4 mm., wide; ligules thin, 1 — 2 cm. long; 

 panicles long and narrow, 20 — 40 cm. long, 

 with ascending, overlapping branches; 

 spikelets often somewhat purplish; glumes 

 scabrous; lemmas hairy on the lower half, 

 awnless or with an awn up to 25 mm. long 

 attached below the apex. Some panicles 

 may have both owned and awnless spike- 

 lets. Canyons and rocky woods; said to 

 be a good soil binder. September — Oc- 

 tober. 



Figure 233 



124 



