New Jersey Muhly

Muhlenbergia torreyana (Schult.) Hitchc. Am. Jour. Bot. 21: 136. 1934.
Agroslis compressa Torr. Cat. PI. N. Y. 91. 1S19. (Type from New Jersey.) Not .4. coinpressa
Willd. 1790. Vi7/o com/ircssa Trin.; Spreng. Neue Entdeck. 2: 58. 1821. (Type from North America.) Not V.
compressa Beau v. 1S12. Agroslis Torreyana Schultes, in R. & S. Syst. Veg. Mant. 2: 203. 1824. (Based on Agroslis compressa
Torr. Basis of Muhleyibergia Torreyana Hitchc.) Sporoboliis compressus Kunth. Enum. P!. 1 : 217. 1833. (Ba.sed on Agroslis compressa Torr.) Sporoboltis Torreyanits Nash in Britton, Man. 107. 1901. (Based on Agroslis Torreyana Schult.)
Perennial, strongly compressed at base, with short stout very scaly rhizomes; culms simple or sparingly branched at base, erect, glabrous, 30-60 cm. tall, the nodes appressed-pilose, the branches erect; sheaths compressed-keeled, numerous and strongly overlapping on the lower part of the culm, glabrous or minutely roughened, pubescent near the base; ligule a rather firm ciliate membrane about 1 mm. long; blades elongate, rather firm, flat or folded, minutely scabrous on both surfaces, as wide as sheaths at base, tapering into a fine sharp apex, 1-3 mm. wide ; panicles oblong, erect, narrow but open, 10-20 cm. long, the capillary branches ascending, the lower as much as 10 cm. long, the a.is and mostly solitary branches scaberulous, rather fewflowered, the capillary pedicels being branches of the third or fourth order, the pedicels enlarged just below the spikelet, the lateral ones 1.5 to 2 mm. long; spikelets about 2 mm. long; glumes subequal, acute, slightly shorter than the lemma; lemma 3-nerved, the palea about as long, both minutely scaberulous-puberulent.
Type locality: New Jersey (Goldy).
Distribution: Moist pine barrens and meadows. New Jersey and Delaware; Georgia (Sumter County. Harper 549).

Perennials, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Rhizomes present, Rhizome elongate, creeping, stems distant, Stems trailing, spreading or prostrate, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems erect or ascending, Stems caespitose, tufted, or clustered, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stem internodes hollow, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m tall, Stems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, Leaves mostly cauline, Leaves conspicuously 2-ranked, distichous, Leaves sheathing at base, Leaf sheath mostly open, or loose, Leaf sheath smooth, glabrous, Leaf sheath and blad e differentiated, Leaf blades linear, Leaf blades very narrow or filiform, less than 2 mm wide, Leaf blades 2-10 mm wide, Leaf blade margins folded, involute, or conduplicate, Leaf blades mostly glabrous, Ligule present, Ligule an unfringed eciliate membrane, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence an open panicle, openly paniculate, branches spreading, Inflorescence solitary, with 1 spike, fascicle, glomerule, head, or cluster per stem or culm, Inflorescence branches more than 10 to numerous, Flowers bisexual, Spikelets pedicellate, Spikelets laterally compressed, Spikelet less than 3 mm wide, Spikelets with 1 fertile floret, Spikelets solitary at rachis nodes, Spikelets all alike and fertille, Spikelets bisexual, Spikelets disarticulating above the glumes, glumes persistent, Spikelets disarticulating beneath or between the florets, Rachilla or pedicel glabrous, Glumes present, empty bracts, Glumes 2 clearly present, Glumes equal or subequal, Glumes shorter than adjacent lemm a, Glumes 1 nerved, Lemmas thin, chartaceous, hyaline, cartilaginous, or membranous, Lemma similar in texture to glumes, Lemma 3 nerved, Lemma glabrous, Lemma apex acute or acuminate, Lemma awnless, Lemma margins thin, lying flat, Lemma straight, Callus or base of lemma evidently hairy, Callus hairs shorter than lemma, Palea present, well developed, Palea membranous, hyaline, Palea about equal to lemma, Palea 2 nerved or 2 keeled, Stamens 3, Styles 2-fid, deeply 2-branched, Stigmas 2, Fruit - caryopsis, Caryopsis ellipsoid, longitudinally grooved, hilum long-linear.

Muhlenbergia torreyana is a species of grass known by the common names New Jersey muhly, Torrey's muhly, and Torrey's dropseed. It is native to the eastern United States, where today it occurs in Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Tennessee. It has been extirpated from Delaware, Georgia, and New York.

This rhizomatous perennial grass produces compressed, blue-green stems up to 75 centimeters tall. The stiff, sharp-pointed leaves are up to 20 centimeters in length. The inflorescence is a cylindrical panicle of tiny purple flowers. Flowering occurs in August through October.

This plant is considered rare in the states where it persists. There are about 67 occurrences, mostly in New Jersey, where it is locally abundant in the Pine Barrens. It also occurs on the coastal plain of Maryland and North Carolina. It is disjunct in central Tennessee.

This species requires regimes of natural disturbance to keep the habitat open, such as flooding and wildfire. One threat to its survival is fire suppression, which allows taller plants and trees to grow into the habitat. Another threat common across its range is recreational vehicles. It is threatened by direct habitat loss to development and agriculture.