Muhlenbergia orophila explained

Muhlenbergia orophila is a grass species native to Guatemala and to Mexico as far north as the Distrito Federal.^{[1] [2]} The type specimen was collected from an alpine meadow at an elevation of approximately 3750 m (12,500 feet) near the Summit of Sierra de las Cuchumantanes, a remote mountainous area in el Departamento de Huehuetenango in the western part of Guatemala.^[3]

Muhlenbergia orophila is a perennial herb growing in clumps. Stems can reach up to 25 cm (10 inches) tall. Sheaths are longer than the internodes. Leaves are long and narrow, up to 8 cm (3.2 inches) long and 1.5 mm (0.06 inches) wide. Spikelets are born in paniculate arrays up to 8 cm (3.2 inches) long partly enclosed in the subtending sheath, each spike dark purple and up to 3.5 mm (0.14 inches) long not including the awn that can be up to 1 mm (0.04 inches) long.^{[4] [5] [6]}

Notes and References

1. Espejo Serna, A., A. R. López-Ferrari & J. Valdés-Reyna. 2000. Poaceae. Monocotiledóneas Mexicanas: una Sinopsis Florística 10: 7–236 [and index].
2. http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/individual/index.php?occid=1118140 Arizona State University Vascular Plant Herbarium
3. http://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=record_ID%3Anmnhbotany_2124746&repo=DPLA Smithsonian Institution
4. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/397773#page/463/mode/1up Swallen, Jason Richard. 1950. New grasses from Mexico, Central America and Surinam. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 29(9):395-429.
5. Peterson, P. M. 2001. Muhlenbergia. 41: 143–173. In P. M. Peterson, R. J. Soreng, G. Davidse, T. S. Filgueiras, F. O. Zuloaga & E. J. Judziewicz (eds.) Catalogue of New World Grasses (Poaceae): II. Subfamily Chloridoideae, Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 41: 143–173. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
6. Reeder, C. G. 1994. 87. Muhlenbergia Schreber. 6: 276–286. In G. Davidse, M. Sousa Sánchez & A.O. Chater (eds.) Flora Mesoamericana. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D. F.