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Scratch Grass
Muhlenbergia asperifolia
  
4 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Scratch Grass (Muhlenbergia asperifolia) 4 Nurseries Carry This Plant Muhlenbergia asperifolia is a species of grass known by the common names alkali muhly and scratchgrass. It is native to much of North America, including most of southern Canada, most of the continental United States except for the southeastern region, and parts of northern Mexico. It is also known from South America. Muhlenbergia asperifolia is a rhizomatous perennial grass growing decumbent or spreading or erect up to about 60 centimeters tall. The inflorescence is a very open, wispy array of many hair-thin, outstretched branches each up to 14 centimeters long. The spikelets at the tips of the branches are only 1 or 2 millimeters long. Muhlenbergia asperifolia is a valuable grass for habitat restoration and revegetation projects in disturbed habitat in the Southwest United States, especially in riparian zones in California and the Intermountain West. It is planted with Sporobolus airoides - Alkali sacaton for Mojave River and other Riparian zone restoration in the Mojave Desert. It produces dense groundcover once established.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Grasses

Size
Size
2 ft tall

Form
Form
Mounding

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate

Flower Color
Flower Color
Purple

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Summer

Wildlife Supported
 


 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 likely * ) SHOW ALL
*
Anicla infecta Image
Green Cutworm Moth Anicla infectaAnicla infecta

Landscaping Information
Moisture
Moisture
Moderate - High

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 4

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers loamy or clay soils. Grows poorly in sandy soils.

Natural Setting
Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 2.4" - 74.2", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 3.55", Coldest Month: 20.6" - 60.3", Hottest Month: 48.0" - 90.0", Humidity: 0.70" - 47.84", Elevation: -66" - 9135"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Alkali Muhly, Scratchgrass


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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