WIRESTEM MUHLY, Muhlenbergia
frondosa (Poir.) Fern. 1, lower part of plant; 2, upper
portions of stems with panicles; 3, spikelet. Perennial,
reproducing by seeds, rhizome growth, and rhizome fragments. Rhizomes
short, creeping, very scaly. Stems erect or decumbent, 2 to 3 feet
(60 to 90 cm) tall, smooth below joints, very tough, leafy, freely branched,
rooting at lower nodes. Leaves flat, rough, pale green, scattered
along the stem and dense near the tip, giving a bushy appearance. Panicles
terminal and axilIary, barely protruding from the leaf sheaths. Seeds
tightly enclosed in the lemma, which may or may not be awned. Found
in fence rows and along roadsides; sometimes persists in cultivated
fields. Growth starts in late spring.