Buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare)
What is it?
Buffelgrass is a shrubby grass to 1.5 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It looks like a bunchgrass when small (either a seedling or recently burned, grazed, or cut). Older plants branch profusely and densely at nodes, giving mature plants a messy appearance. These nodal branches produce new leaves and flower spikes very quickly after light rains, making buffelgrass an extremely prolific seed producer.
Some native grasses such as Arizona cottontop (Digitaria californica) branch sparsely and do not appear shrubby. Bush muhly (Muhlenbergia porteri) is a true densely-branched shrub; it differs from buffelgrass in its very delicate texture.