Poaceae

Scratchgrass

Muhlenbergia asperifolia (Nees & Meyen ex Trin.) Parodi

Family: Poaceae
Genus: Muhlenbergia

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Scratchgrass: Muhlenberiga asperifolia forms the slightly taller patch of grass at front and center. — Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (1)

English: Scratchgrass

Synonyms

Agrostis distichophylla Phil.
Agrostis eremophila Speg.
Sporobolus asperifolius (Nees & Meyen ex Trin.) Nees & Meyen
Sporobolus asperifolius var. major Vasey
Sporobolus copiapinus Phil.
Sporobolus deserticola Phil.
Sporobolus distichophyllus Phil.
Sporobolus sarmentosus Griseb.
Vilfa asperifolia Meyen
Vilfa asperifolia Nees & Meyen ex Trin.

Flowers

Flower colour: purple (USDA PLANTS Database)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Graminoid
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native

Photos

Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: John Rusk from Berkeley, CA, United States of America, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: John Rusk from Berkeley, CA, United States of America, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons

More in Muhlenbergia

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.