''Muhlenbergia frondosa'' is a species of plants in the genus ''
Muhlenbergia'' and a member of the
grass family
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...
. 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.
Taxonomy
''Muhlenbergia frondosa'' is a member of the genus ''
Muhlenbergia''. It is a
flowering plant,
monocot, and a member of the grass family
Poaceae
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...
.
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.
Description
This is a
perennial grass growing about , 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.
drop individually leaving behind the
glumes. The fruit (grains) are 1.6-1.9 mm long, from amber to brown.
Distribution
''Muhlenbergia frondosa'' occurs in most of the central and eastern United States.
It naturally inhabits moist to wet forest margins and openings, freshwater littoral habitats, and grasslands. It is invasive in some parts of Canada.
Ecology
According to ''Illinois Wildflowers'', ''M. frondosa'' is associated with a variety of animals that feed on or use it as refuge. It is preyed on by insects from
dipterans to
true bugs. Larvae of a
gall fly, ''
Astictoneura agrostis
''Astictoneura'' is a genus of gall midges in the family Cecidomyiidae
Cecidomyiidae is a family of flies known as gall midges or gall gnats. As the name implies, the larvae of most gall midges feed within plant tissue, creating abnormal pla ...
'', form scaly
galls on this plant. Other larvae that feed on this grass include that of
gall wasp (''
Eurytomocharis muhlenbergiae''),
grass fly
The Chloropidae are a family of flies commonly known as frit flies or grass flies. About 2000 described species are in over 160 genera distributed worldwide. These are usually very small flies, yellow or black and appearing shiny due to the virtu ...
(
''Homaluroides ingratus''), and
stink bug Stink bug or stinkbug is a common name for several insects and may refer to:
* Any of several bugs in the true bug (hemipteran) family Pentatomidae
**''Halyomorpha halys
The brown marmorated stink bug (''Halyomorpha halys'') is an insect in the ...
(''
Hymenarcys nervosa
''Hymenarcys nervosa'' is a species of stink bug in the family Pentatomidae. It is found in North America.
References
Articles created by Qbugbot
Insects described in 1832
Pentatomini
{{Pentatomidae-stub ...
''). Adult insects feeding on the grass include
leafhoppers
A leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family Cicadellidae. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. Their hind legs are modified for jumping, a ...
(''
Plesiommata tripunctata'' and ''
Flexamia imputans''), and
aphids (
''Schizaphis muhlenbergia'' and
''Anoecia cornicola''). Additionally, the seeds are probably eaten by birds, and the grass is grazed by cattle and other
ungulates. ''M. frondosa'' grows in dense clusters, which provide cover for small fauna such as rodents, reptiles, and arthropods.
Management
This grass can be weedy and invasive.
It can infest crops of
corn
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
and
soybean reducing yields in southern Canada and the Midwest to Northeastern United States. It is comparatively shade tolerant, can regrow from rhizomes, and produces abundant seeds. However it is controllable with herbicides, best timed for active growth stages
Though it can spread to places where it is unwanted, it is not very aggressive and is slow to develop.
References
External links
USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar
frondosa