Index / Search / Muhlenbergia cuspidata
§1 Plant
Muhlenbergia cuspidata (Torr. ex Hook.) Rydb.
vernacular plains muhly — species · Poaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Graminoid
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Monocot
- Family
- Poaceae Barnhart
- Genus
- Muhlenbergia
§2a
Native status, by region
- CAN Canada Native
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b
County-level range
· 239 counties across 19 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- High
- Shade
- High
- Moisture use
- Low
- Fire
- High
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- None
- CaCO₃
- Medium
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -38 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 85 min.
- Precipitation
- 18–40 in/yr
- pH range
- 5–6.7
- Root depth
- 12 in min.
- Fertility need
- Low
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Bunch
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Mature height
- 1.4 ft
- Foliage texture
- Fine
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Moderate
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- Yellow
- Fruit colour
- Green
- Fire resistant
- No
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Late Spring
- Seed abundance
- Medium
- Seed begins
- Spring
- Seed ends
- Summer
- Spread rate
- Slow
- Stratify
- No
- Seeds / lb
- 1,200,000
- Propagation
- seed
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- No Known Source
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- Low
- Graze palatability
- Medium
- Palatable, human
- No
- Protein potential
- Medium
- Lumber
- No
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 239 counties across 19 states/territories.
Arkansas view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 8 N ▾
Indiana view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Iowa view state ↗ 27 N ▾
- Buena Vista 19021
- Carroll 19027
- Cerro Gordo 19033
- Cherokee 19035
- Clay 19041
- Dickinson 19059
- Emmet 19063
- Fremont 19071
- Guthrie 19077
- Harrison 19085
- Jackson 19097
- Jasper 19099
- Kossuth 19109
- Lyon 19119
- Mills 19129
- Monona 19133
- Palo Alto 19147
- Plymouth 19149
- Polk 19153
- Pottawattamie 19155
- Sioux 19167
- Story 19169
- Union 19175
- Webster 19187
- Winnebago 19189
- Winneshiek 19191
- Woodbury 19193
Kansas view state ↗ 31 N ▾
- Anderson 20003
- Bourbon 20011
- Butler 20015
- Chase 20017
- Clay 20027
- Cloud 20029
- Coffey 20031
- Cowley 20035
- Ellis 20051
- Ellsworth 20053
- Geary 20061
- Greenwood 20073
- Jackson 20085
- Lincoln 20105
- Linn 20107
- Lyon 20111
- Marion 20115
- Marshall 20117
- McPherson 20113
- Mitchell 20123
- Morris 20127
- Nemaha 20131
- Ottawa 20143
- Republic 20157
- Rice 20159
- Riley 20161
- Rooks 20163
- Saline 20169
- Smith 20183
- Sumner 20191
- Wabaunsee 20197
Kentucky view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Michigan view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Minnesota view state ↗ 37 N ▾
- Benton 27009
- Big Stone 27011
- Blue Earth 27013
- Cass 27021
- Chippewa 27023
- Clay 27027
- Cottonwood 27033
- Dakota 27037
- Douglas 27041
- Faribault 27043
- Goodhue 27049
- Grant 27051
- Hennepin 27053
- Houston 27055
- Jackson 27063
- Kittson 27069
- Lac qui Parle 27073
- Le Sueur 27079
- Lincoln 27081
- Lyon 27083
- McLeod 27085
- Norman 27107
- Otter Tail 27111
- Pipestone 27117
- Polk 27119
- Pope 27121
- Ramsey 27123
- Redwood 27127
- Roseau 27135
- Scott 27139
- Stevens 27149
- Swift 27151
- Traverse 27155
- Waseca 27161
- Washington 27163
- Winona 27169
- Yellow Medicine 27173
Missouri view state ↗ 29 N ▾
- Atchison 29005
- Bates 29013
- Benton 29015
- Boone 29019
- Buchanan 29021
- Crawford 29055
- Dallas 29059
- Dent 29065
- Grundy 29079
- Harrison 29081
- Henry 29083
- Holt 29087
- Jackson 29095
- Jasper 29097
- Jefferson 29099
- Maries 29125
- McDonald 29119
- Miller 29131
- Monroe 29137
- Morgan 29141
- Phelps 29161
- Pike 29163
- Pulaski 29169
- Randolph 29175
- Ray 29177
- Shannon 29203
- St. Clair 29185
- Texas 29215
- Washington 29221
Montana view state ↗ 3 N ▾
Nebraska view state ↗ 26 N ▾
- Banner 31007
- Brown 31017
- Buffalo 31019
- Cass 31025
- Chase 31029
- Cherry 31031
- Cheyenne 31033
- Clay 31035
- Dakota 31043
- Dawes 31045
- Dodge 31053
- Garden 31069
- Gosper 31073
- Greeley 31077
- Hitchcock 31087
- Holt 31089
- Howard 31093
- Keith 31101
- Lancaster 31109
- Lincoln 31111
- Morrill 31123
- Nemaha 31127
- Richardson 31147
- Sheridan 31161
- Sioux 31165
- Stanton 31167
New Mexico view state ↗ 3 N ▾
North Dakota view state ↗ 29 N ▾
- Benson 38005
- Billings 38007
- Bottineau 38009
- Burke 38013
- Burleigh 38015
- Cass 38017
- Cavalier 38019
- Divide 38023
- Emmons 38029
- Golden Valley 38033
- Grand Forks 38035
- Grant 38037
- McHenry 38049
- McKenzie 38053
- Mercer 38057
- Morton 38059
- Mountrail 38061
- Pembina 38067
- Pierce 38069
- Ransom 38073
- Sargent 38081
- Sheridan 38083
- Slope 38087
- Stark 38089
- Steele 38091
- Stutsman 38093
- Ward 38101
- Wells 38103
- Williams 38105
Ohio view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 1 N ▾
South Dakota view state ↗ 16 N ▾
Tennessee view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 5 N ▾
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/MUCU3 ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/2703983 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T09:28:40Z