MUHLY

any of about 125 species of range grasses constituting the genus Muhlenbergia (family Poaceae), native to North and South America. Some species are less than 10 centimetres (4 inches) tall and bushy, others are highly branched and matlike, and still others are taller (up to 1 metre, or ) and grow in tufts. Most muhlys are perennials, and all species have only one floret on each branch, or subdivision, within a panicle (flower cluster). Some species are used for fodder. Bush muhly (M. porteri) is so palatable to browsing animals that it is rarely found where livestock has access to it.