| Author | (Poiret) Trinius | |
| Distribution | Coastal Plain and Sandhills only; ranging north only to Washington, Martin, and Wake counties.
Coastal Plain, southeastern VA to central FL and eastern TX. | |
| Abundance | Frequent throughout. Not yet recorded from the far northeastern counties. | |
| Habitat | Wet pine savannas and flatwoods, blackwater streamhead ecotones, pitcher-plant seepage bogs -- all subject to frequent fires. |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting September-October. | |
| Identification | Overall, this species is similar to M. capillaris and may occur within 50 yards of it. The inflorescence is whitish and never takes on the pink or reddish hues of M. capillaris. The glume bodies are 2-2.3 mm long (vs. 0.7-1.7 mm long in that species). Apparently it is never found in maritime communities, as opposed to M. sericea. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | Some authors lump it with M. sericea and M. capillaris, but those are clearly distinct species; see the discussion by Weakley (2018).
In NC the genus Muhlenbergia assumes 2 very different forms of inflorescences: very open and airy or narrow and elongate, with short branches. In both cases, attention to details of the key is important, along with a dissecting scope. Once learned, however, most muhlys can be identified on sight in the field. Spikelets contain a single floret (rarely 2-3). | |
| Other Common Name(s) | Savanna Hairgrass is a more descriptive name. Spreading Muhly. | |
| State Rank | S4 | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FACW link |
| USACE-emp | FACW link |
