Muhlenbergia rigens
Warm-season native bunchgrass with arching silver-green blades and tall, slender flower spikes, a dense, erect, spicate inflorescence bearing awnless, single-flowered spikelets; drought-tolerant, noninvasive, tidy, and ornamental, typically 3–5 ft tall by 4–6 ft wide, native to the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, suitable as a solitary specimen or in drifts
Common Names
Deer Grass, Deer Muhly, Meadow Muhly
Summary
Deer grass is a warm-season perennial bunchgrass native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, forming dense clumps with evergreen green-silver foliage. It grows 3–5 ft tall and 4–6 ft wide, with an arching, fountain-like habit and long, slender, silver-gray panicles that rise above the foliage in late summer to autumn.
It prefers full sun to light shade and well-drained soils ranging from sandy to clay; drought-tolerant once established and adaptable to a range of soils. It is used in xeriscapes, mass plantings, groundcovers, bank stabilization, and habitat restoration, and attracts birds and butterflies while being deer-resistant; seeds were historically ground to mush for food and used in basketry by Native Americans. Propagation is by seed or division; spacing about 2 ft apart; pruning or burning in late winter/early spring helps reduce thatch and rejuvenate new growth.
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
3-5 feet
Spread
4-6 feet
Hardiness Zones
Zones 6-11
Sunlight Requirements
Ideally full sun, tolerates partial sun, partial shade, and sun or shade.
Soil Type
Well-drained soil (preferred)
Soil Drainage
Well-drained soil
Soil pH
6.5
Bloom Color
Grayish-green
Bloom Time
Fall
Foliage Color
gray-green
Fall Foliage Color
Evergreen
Leaf Lifecycle
Other
Growth Rate
Fast
Seasons of Interest
Summer and Fall
Propagation Methods
Seeds, Division
Attracts Wildlife
Attracts bees, butterflies, birds
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- (Benth.) Hitchc.
- Publication
- J. Washington Acad. Sci. 23: 453 (1933)
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Angiosperms
- Order
- Poales
- Family
- Poaceae
- Genus
- Muhlenbergia
Synonyms
Crypsinna rigens Epicampes leptoura Muhlenbergia leptoura Muhlenbergia mundula Epicampes rigens Muhlenbergia marshii