+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ## deergrass {#deergrass .Title-Header}                               |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Muhlenbergia rigens* (Benth.) A.S. Hitchc.                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Plant Symbol = MURI2                                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

### ![](media/image2.png){width="2.029861111111111in" height="3.0520833333333335in"}

# Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: Deergrass is a significant basketry material to central
and southern California Native Americans who utilize the flower stalks
in the foundations of coiled baskets. Frequently thousands of flower
stalks are needed for completion of each basket. Culms are gathered in
late spring while still green, or summer or early fall when golden brown
depending upon the tribe, individual family preference and elevation of
the deergrass site.

*Wildlife*: In California, dense patches of deergrass provide cover
during the fawning period of mule deer (*Odocoileus hemionus*) in
mountain meadows and grassland openings. The younger palatable tufts are
grazed by deer, horses, and cattle and can remain palatable if
continually grazed. It is particularly sought for forage by animals when
first resprouting after a burn. Older tufts are poor feed for livestock.
The seeds provide food for songbirds and probably other birds as well.
In sunny openings where deergrass occurs, it forms a larval food plant
for one of the Satyrid butterflies, the California ringlet *(Coenonympha
california)* and for the umber skipper *(Poanes melane).* Massive
numbers of ladybugs overwinter in deergrass clumps.

*Conservation*: Deergrass is a valuable streambank stabilizer, as it has
an extensive root system, and if grown in dense enough colonies, it can
be an effective weed suppresser. In California, Pacific Gas and Electric
is experimenting with growing dense colonies under powerline corridors.
It\'s long, slender culms, and tall tufts making it an attractive plant
for the garden.

*Other Uses*: Uses of deergrass include streambank stabilization,
landscaping, forage, insectary, weed suppressant, and wildlife.

# Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious status
and wetland indicator values.

# Description

*General*: Grass Family (Poaceae). Deergrass is a perennial bunchgrass
obtaining heights of 5 feet when in bloom. It is part of the largest
genus of warm season grasses in North America. The bunchgrass is found
in dense, large clumps, but can occur as a continuous cover, in areas
that are subjected to light, frequent ground fires. The culms are
slender, narrow spike-like panicles, 9 to 12 dm. in length and less than
1.2 cm. wide. The numerous, small spikelets each have one awnless
floret, with a 3-nerved lemma. The ligules are firm and truncate, 2-3 mm
long. The leaves are 1.5 to 6 mm wide. The seeds are small, requiring
about 2.5 million to make one pound. The dense, basal foliage is tufted
and these large tufts, up to six feet across, are a distinguishing
feature of the grass, along with the whip-like flower stalks.

# Distribution

For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this
species on the PLANTS Web site. It is found in sandy or gravely
well-drained soils in scattered colonies in dry or damp places below
2150 m elevation from Shasta County in northern California south,
extending into New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico.

# Establishment

*Adaptation*: Deergrass can withstand periodic flooding, but it cannot
tolerate poorly-drained soils. The major plant communities it inhabits
include valley grassland, streamsides, and meadow habitat. Additionally,
deergrass is shade-intolerant and also occurs in grassland openings
within chaparral, mixed conifer forests, and oak woodland plant
communities, maintained with human-set or lightning fires. On most soil
types, these grassland areas quickly revert to the surrounding dominant
vegetation type without human or natural disturbance.

*Broadcast Seeding*: In California and the Southwest, deergrass can be
broadcast seeded in the late spring or summer during the months of May,
June, July, and August, with irrigation. The seeds are tiny and should
be broadcast on top of the ground, and then run over with a ring roller
or a culti-packer to compress the seeds slightly below the soil surface.
For best results, sow at least four pounds of PLS (pure live seed) per
acre, which amounts to 50 seeds per square foot. Deergrass is slow
growing and germination rates can vary from two weeks up to two months.
Fertilization of deergrass is not recommended, as it usually gives the
alien weeds a competitive edge. Site preparation is extremely important
for good establishment of deergrass. Both repetitive tillage and burning
are recommended to drastically curtail weed competition. Repetitive
tillage involves loosening the soil, irrigating, and cultivating the
area with a disc harrow, following with a ring roller to kill the flush
of annual weeds. This is done several times prior to seeding to exhaust
the weed seed bank. Burning involves firing all residual dry matter
prior to seeding. ![](media/image3.png){width="2.2875in"
height="1.8243055555555556in"}

*Container Planting*: Container planting is a more effective and less
time consuming way of establishing deergrass, but it is more costly than
seeding on a large scale. Deergrass seed can be sown into flats or,
D-pots, stubby cells, or reforestation tubes in May. Plants can be
planted out from containers in the fall of the same year in soil that
has been moistened with the first rains, using standard planting
procedures. Plants can also be sown in the fall in flats or containers
and planted out the next summer or fall in the designated area. Plants
should be spaced at a minimum width of 24 inches. Irrigating is not
necessary if it is a normal rainfall year. Site preparation is the same
as for a broadcast seeding. Larger bunchgrasses can also be divided in
winter or early spring and transplanted. A good stand of deergrass can
be established by container planting in one and one half years. It is
thought that container planting with grown plugs is more effective than
a seeding.

# Management

Once established, deergrass is quite drought-tolerant. To maintain its
vigor and reduce accumulated dead material, deergrass can be mowed or
burned every several years. Burning or mowing should be in the fall,
after it has gone to seed. Many tribes historically and probably
prehistorically enhanced deergrass populations through firing deergrass
stands in the fall in California every two to five years. Indian-set
fires increased flower stalk yields, recycled nutrients, cleared away
detritus, and promoted seedling production in the midst of reduced
competition from other plants. According to Native American elders,
these fires maintained the bunchgrass in greater numbers than would have
occurred under natural conditions. Knowledge of past indigenous fire
management of deergrass has important implications for mountain meadow
habitat management for wildlife and maintenance of grassland openings
within shrublands, woodlands, and forests for preservation of indigenous
cultural traditions. Some areas could be managed with the dual
objectives of indigenous harvesting of flower stalks and grazing after
culm harvest. There are several fungi that infect the leaves of
deergrass, causing debilitation, but usually not death. A fire would
eliminate these pathogens.

# Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

If possible, gather the seed from local sources, to maintain genetic
diversity of deergrass. The flower stalks can be cut, bundled, and then
beat over a tarp or bucket to release the seeds. The seeds are usually
highly viable, and do not need special treatment. This grass is
available from nurseries handling native plants.

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

# References

Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arizona 1953. *Arizona
range grasses: Description\--forage value\-\--management.* Bulletin 298,
Tucson, Arizona.

Amme, D. 1994. *The development of native grasses in California*.
Growing Native 5(2). The newsletter of the Growing Native Research
Institute.

Anderson, M.K. 1996. *The ethnobotany of deergrass*, *Muhlenbergia
rigens* (Poaceae): *its uses and fire management by California Indian
tribes*. Economic Botany 50(4):409-422.

Edwards, S.W. 1989. *Ten splendid grasses*. The Four Seasons 8(3):17-24.
Journal of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden.

Kephart, P. & D. Amme 1992. *Native perennial grass establishment and
management*. Grasslands (February): The newsletter of the California
Native Grass Association.

Lathrop, E. & B. Martin 1982. *Fire ecology of deergrass* *(Muhlenbergia
rigens)* *in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, California*. Crossosoma
8(5):1-4, 9-10.

Sampson, A.W., A. Chase, & D.W. Hedrick 1951. *California grasslands and
range forage grasses*. California Agricultural Experiment Station
Bulletin 724.

Stromberg, M.R. & P. Kephart 1996. *Restoring native grasses in
California old fields*. Restoration and Management Notes 14(2):102-111.

# Prepared By & Species Coordinator

##### *M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

c/o Plant Sciences Department, University of California, Davis,
California

Edited: 05dec00 jsp; 21may03 ahv; 060802 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

*The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in
all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual
orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication of program information (Braille,
large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
TDD).*

*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.*

*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
Service](http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/civilrights/).*