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| Category: Grass |
| Family: Poaceae (Gramineae) (Grasses) |
| Origin: Gulf of Mexico (North America) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Pink |
| Bloomtime: Fall |
| Height: 2-3 feet |
| Width: 2-3 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Seaside: Yes |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Deer Tolerant: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: <15° F |
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Muhlenbergia capillaris (Hairy Awn Muhly) - A beautiful warm season grass from S.E. United States with stunning pink airy flowering panicles that hover cloud-like above the fine textured olive-green foliage. The foliage of this grass reaches to nearly 2 feet tall with the flowers topping 3 feet. The flowers first appear in September and remain pink for over a month, slowly aging to brown into winter. Cut back the plants when first becoming dormant or leave as an attractive brown accent until early spring. Although this grass comes from moister habitats it is surprisingly drought resistant but looks best with an occasional watering. We first listed this grass in our 1993 catalog, shortly after John Greenlee introduced it to us and to many of our customers at our 1992 Field Day - the collective "Ohhh" could only be matched by the reaction to his presentation of Muhlenbergia capillaris 'White Cloud' at our 2010 Field Day. The nomenclature is not entirely clear on this grass. According to the Grass Manual for the Flora of North America, there are at least 3 very similar grasses with Muhlenbergia capillaris, the smaller grass, rarely exceeding 3 feet that comes from a wide areas of the southeastern United States from Texas to Florida and north up into New England and south into Mexico, the Bahamas, and possibly various Caribbean islands. Another very similar grass, once called Muhlenbergia capillaris var. filipes but now elevated to species level is Muhlenbergia sericea, a name resurrected because it has priority as an older name. It is a larger plant, from 3 to 4 feet tall, that comes from sandy maritime habitats on the barrier islands and in coastal woodlands of the southeastern United States. A third very similar grass, Muhlenbergia rigida, is described as a smaller plant, 40-100 cm' that is "often a common upland bunchgrass, and is also grown as an ornamental plant. Grows in two disjunct areas: the southwestern United States south to Chiapas, Mexico, and in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina.". For the time being we are still calling this plant Muhlenbergia capillaris as it is treated this way by a majority in the horticultural community. The name Muhlenbergia honors Gotthilf Heinrich (Henry) Ernst Muhlenberg (1753–1815), an American clergyman and botanist from Pennsylvania. The specific epithet means “hair-like” from the Latin words 'capillus' meaning "hair" and the connecting suffix 'aris' that means "of" or "pertaining to".
Information displayed on this page about Muhlenbergia capillaris is based on the research conducted about it in our library and from reliable online resources. We also note those observations we have made of this plant as it grows in the nursery's garden and in other gardens, as well how crops have performed in our nursery field. We will incorporate comments we receive from others, and welcome to hear from anyone who may have additional information, particularly if they share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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