Gulf Muhly

Muhlenbergia capillaris

Hills guide picknative · Central Texas

Gulf Muhly is a grass native to Central Texas that grows 2–2.5 ft tall and 2 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and low to medium water, and handles clay soil. Blooms pink and purple in fall. Deer rarely browse it. Good for birds, butterflies and small mammals.

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From our guide

Village of the Hills

Fine-textured bunchgrass that produces a cloud of pink-purple seed heads in October and November.

Why it works here

The best fall display of any Texas native grass, especially backlit by low sun. Tough and drought tolerant.

Watch out

The pink show needs full sun. In shade you get foliage and no display.

The facts

8 sources

Type: Grass
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3+ hrs)
Water: Low to medium
Height: 2–2.5 ft
Spread: 2 ft
Bloom: Fall · pink, purple
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil: Takes clay · recorded on calcareous, clay, rocky, sand, well drained
Deer: High — deer rarely browse it. Grasses generally ignored
Wildlife: Supports birds, butterflies and small mammals

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Northern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low Terraces

13 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

In the Village of the Hills guide, but not on the grower stock lists we read yet. Ask a native-plant nursery.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.