Tridentopsis mutica

Tridentopsis mutica is a New World species of grass known by the common name slim tridens.^[2]

Tridentopsis mutica
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Chloridoideae
Genus:	Tridentopsis
Species:	T. mutica
Binomial name
Tridentopsis mutica (Torr.) P.M.Peterson
Synonyms[1]
Sieglingia mutica (Torr.) Kuntze Sieglingia trinerviglumis Kuntze, nom. nud. Tricuspis mutica Torr. (1857) (basionym) Tricuspis pilosa A.Heller Tricuspis trinerviglumis Munro ex A.Gray, nom. nud. Tridens muticus (Torr.) Nash Triodia mutica (Torr.) Scribn. Triodia trinerviglumis Benth. ex Vasey, nom. nud. Tridens muticus f. effusus M.C.Johnst. Tridens pilosus (A.Heller) Hitchc. Uralepis pilosa Buckley, nom. illeg.

Description

It is a perennial grass forming a thick tuft with a knotted base and rhizome. It reaches a maximum height of 50 to 80 centimetres (20 to 31 in). The panicle has short branches appressed to the others, making the inflorescence narrow. The florets are generally purple in color.

This plant uses C4 carbon fixation as its method of energy metabolism.^[3]

Distribution and habitat

It is native to northern Mexico and the southwestern and south-central United States.^[1]

It grows in several types of habitat, including plateau and desert, woodlands, sagebrush, plains, and other areas with dry sandy and clay soils.