Festuca subg. Festuca
usually more or less stiff, setaceous if lax, usually conduplicate, sometimes convolute or flat;
ribs usually distinct;
sclerenchyma girders sometimes present at the major veins.
intravaginal or extravaginal.
wider than long, scabrous on the margins;
lemmas usually membranous or chartaceous, rarely somewhat coriaceous, usually entire, sometimes minutely bidentate, usually awned, sometimes unawned;
ovary apices glabrous or sparsely to densely pubescent.
Festuca subg. Festuca
Festuca subg. Festuca is most abundant in the Northern Hemisphere, but it is distributed on all continents except Antarctica. Estimating the number of species in this subgenus is difficult in the absence of adequate treatments for many parts of the world, but it probably exceeds 400.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
