Muhlenbergia richardsonis (Trin.) Rydb.

vernacular mat muhly — species · Poaceae

USDA: MURI
GBIF: 2704017
Rank: species

mat muhly (Muhlenbergia richardsonis) — Platephotograph · Jim MorefieldCC BY source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Graminoid
Duration: Perennial
Group: Monocot
Family: Poaceae Barnhart
Genus: Muhlenbergia

§2a

Native status, by region

AK Alaska Native
CAN Canada Native
L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 5 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 5 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Low
Shade: High
Moisture use: High
Fire: Medium
Salinity: None
Anaerobic: None
CaCO₃: High
Hedging: Medium

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -28 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 140 min.
Precipitation: 10–19 in/yr
pH range: 7.5–9.5
Root depth: 6 in min.
Fertility need: Low
Soil texture: medium, fine

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Rhizomatous
Growth rate: Rapid
Lifespan: Short
Mature height: 0.5 ft
Foliage texture: Fine
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Porous
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: Green
Fruit colour: Yellow
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Early Summer
Seed abundance: Medium
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Fall
Spread rate: Rapid
Stratify: No
Seeds / lb: 1,500,000
Propagation: seed, sprigs

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: Contracting Only
Nursery stock: No
Browse palatability: Medium
Graze palatability: Medium
Palatable, human: No
Protein potential: Medium
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 5 counties across 1 state.

Montana view state ↗ 5 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/MURI ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2704017 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z