Festuca californica
Festuca arizonica
California fescue
Arizona fescue, pinegrass
30-150 (200) cm, glabrous or pubescent, sometimes scabrous.
35-80 (100) cm, usually densely scabrous or densely pubescent below the inflorescences.
closed for less than 1/3 their length, persistent, glabrous or pilose, smooth or scabrous, sometimes scabrous or pilose only distally or on the distal margins;
collars usually densely pubescent or with a few hairs at the margins, sometimes glabrous;
ligules 0.2-5 mm, usually ciliate, abaxial surfaces puberulent;
blades 1-6.5 mm wide, conduplicate, convolute, or flat, 0.5-2(2.5) mm in diameter when convolute, deciduous, abaxial surfaces scabrous or smooth, glabrous or the bases pubescent, adaxial surfaces puberulent to pubescent, veins 9-15(17), ribs (3)5-15(17);
abaxial sclerenchyma forming more or less continuous bands, sometimes reduced to small strands;
adaxial sclerenchyma sometimes present;
girders or pillars present at most veins.
closed for less than 1/2 their length, glabrous, smooth or scabrous, persistent;
collars glabrous, smooth or scabrous;
ligules 0.5-1.5(2) mm;
blades 0.3-0.8 mm in diameter, conduplicate, abaxial surfaces scabrous or puberulent, adaxial surfaces scabrous to pubescent, veins 5-7, ribs (1)3-5(7), distinct;
abaxial sclerenchyma in 5-7 broad strands, rarely forming a complete band, forming pillars with some veins;
adaxial sclerenchyma not developed.
10-25(30) cm, open, with (1)2(4) branches per node;
branches spreading and lax.
(4)6-15(20) cm, loosely contracted or open, with 1-2 branches per node;
branches erect or spreading, lower branches with 2+ spikelets.
8-18(20) mm, borne towards the ends of the branches, with 3-6(8) florets.
(6)8-16 mm, with (3)4-6(8) florets.
lanceolate, glabrous or sparsely scabrous at the apices;
lower glumes (4)4.5-6.7(8) mm;
upper glumes (5)6-10 mm;
lemmas (7)7.5-11 mm, lanceolate, scabrous, puberulent, sometimes minutely bidentate, acute, usually awned, rarely unawned, awns (1)2-3(4) mm;
paleas shorter than to longer than the lemmas, pubescent or glabrous on the margins, intercostal region usually puberulent distally;
anthers (3)4-7.5(8.5) mm;
ovary apices densely pubescent.
exceeded by the upper florets, lanceolate, glabrous, smooth or scabrous distally;
lower glumes (3)3.3-5.5 mm;
upper glumes 4.5-6.6(7) mm;
lemmas 5.5-9 mm, glabrous, smooth or scabrous towards the apices, unawned or awned, awns 0.4-2(3) mm;
paleas slightly shorter than the lemmas, intercostal region scabrous or puberulent distally;
anthers (2)3-4(4.2) mm;
ovary apices densely pubescent.
= 56.
= 42.
Festuca californica
Festuca arizonica
Festuca californica grows on dry, open slopes and moist streambanks in thickets and open woods, from sea level to 2000 m. Its range extends from Clackamas County, Oregon, to the Sierra Nevada and southern California; it is not known to extend into Mexico. It is the largest species of Festuca in the Flora region.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Festuca arizonica grows in dry meadows and openings of montane forests, in gravelly, rocky soil, at 2100-3400 m. Its range extends from southern Nevada and southern Utah east to Colorado and south to Arizona, western Texas, and northern Mexico. It is abundant and valuable forage in some parts of its range. It is often found with F. calligera (see previous).
Festuca arizonica differs from F. idahoensis (see next), with which it is sometimes confused, in its prominently ribbed blades and pubescent ovary apices. It has frequently been included in F. ovina (p. 422).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Culms 30-80(100) cm tall, usually pubescent for more than 5 mm below the nodes; lower sheaths densely retrorsely pubescent; vegetative shoot blades with (3)5-9 ribs, the ribs to about 1/2 as deep as the blade thickness; abaxial sclerenchyma in small strands or forming continuous bands; adaxial sclerenchyma strands present or absent; sclerenchyma pillars rarely formed; girders not developed; spikelets with 3-4(5) florets | subsp. parishii |
1. Culms 60-150(200) cm tall, glabrous or pubescent for less than 5 mm below the nodes; lower sheaths glabrous or pubescent, if pubescent then usually not densely retrorsely hairy; vegetative shoot blades with 7-15(17) ribs, the ribs usually more than 1/2 as deep as the blade thickness; abaxial sclerenchyma forming a continuous band; adaxial sclerenchyma in strands; sclerenchyma pillars or girders usually associated with most of the veins; spikelets with (3)4-6(8) florets. | → 2 |
2. Ligules 0.2-1(1.2) mm long, ciliate; spikelets (8)13-18(20) mm long | subsp. californica |
2. Ligules (1)1.5-5 mm long, ciliate or not; spikelets 8-12(17) mm long | subsp. hitchcockiana |
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
