Muhlenbergia rigens  Muhlenbergia rigens, commonly known as deergrass, is a warm season perennial bunchgrass. It is found in sandy or well-drained soils below in elevation in the Southwestern United States and parts of Mexico. Deergrass is characterized by dense, tufted basal foliage consisting of narrow pointed leaves that reach lengths of about . The foliage ranges in color from light silver-green to purple. The spikelike stems are less than half an inch wide and in length. During bloom, the numerous flowered panicles often reach heights of five feet. The spikelets consist of a single awnless floret with a 3-nerved lemma. Deergrass is characteristic of tallgrass prairie of much of the Western United States. The native range of the grass extends north into Shasta County, California, and south into New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. There it inhabits a wide range of ecotypes including grassland, riparian, chaparral, mixed conifer, and oak woodland communities. Deergrass can grow in areas with periodic flooding, but cannot tolerate standing water and poorly drained soils. It prefers full sun but is shade-tolerant. The young shoots are browsed by a variety of animals, but with age the plant becomes unpalatable. As such, is useful in an exposed garden setting for its deer resistance. It has also been used for erosion prevention and streambank stabilization because of extensive root systems. Restoration efforts currently use deergrass to displace exotic invasive annuals that dominate some grassland ecosystems. Deergrass can also be used to remediate overtilled, eroded agricultural land where it anchors and returns lost organic matter to the soil. Phytoremediative studies have been conducted to test the ability of deergrass to remove chemicals from agricultural runoff. Its dense stands and extensive roots act as a biofilter effective for herbicide, pesticide, and particulate breakdown. Among the Zuni people, the grass is attached to the sticks of plume offerings to anthropic gods. "Muhlenbergia rigens", can be established in late spring and early summer by broadcast seeding with irrigation. For best results, 50 seeds per square foot are planted then lightly incorporated just below the soil surface with a culti-packer. Establishment is most successful when steps are taken to mitigate weed growth. Burning, discing, and reduced fertilization schemes to reduce the weed seed bank are recommended. Container planting is a highly effective way of establishing deergrass.