Common satin grass

Description

Muhlenbergia frondosa is a species of plants in the genus Muhlenbergia and a member of the grass family. Its common name is common satin grass or wirestem muhly.It is informally grouped with other satin grasses, which are other species in Muhlenbergia. It is a warm-season C4-photosynthetic grass. Muhlenbergia frondosa is a member of the genus Muhlenbergia. It is a flowering plant, monocot, and a member of the grass family Poaceae.The genus Muhlenbergia was named after the German-educated Lutheran minister and botanist Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, who classified and named 150 species of plants in his 1785 work Index Flora Lancastriensis.Synonyms of M. frondosa include Agrostis frondosa Poir. and Muhlenbergia commutata (Scribn.) Bush. This is a perennial grass growing about 1.5–3.5 feet (0.5–1.1 m), forming short, lateral branches along the central culm. It usually sprawls across the ground or onto neighboring vegetation. It has a yellow bloom, which in Texas, occurs from March to May. In Illinois, however, the blooming period occurs during late summer to autumn, lasting around 1-3 weeks for one colony of plants. The florets are cross-pollinated by the wind. Florets drop individually.leaving behind the glumes. The fruit (grains) are 1.6-1.9 mm long, from amber to brown.