Festuca occidentalis
Festuca hallii
western fescue
plains rough fescue
(25)40-80(110) cm, glabrous, smooth.
(16)25-65(85) cm, glabrous, smooth or scabrous near the inflorescence;
nodes usually not exposed.
closed for much less than 1/2 their length, glabrous, somewhat persistent or slowly shredding into fibers;
collars glabrous;
ligules 0.1-0.4 mm, usually longer at the sides;
blades all alike, 0.3-0.7 mm in diameter, conduplicate, abaxial surfaces smooth or scabridulous, veins (3)5, ribs 1-5;
abaxial sclerenchyma in 5-7 narrow strands, about as wide as the adjacent veins;
adaxial sclerenchyma absent.
closed for less than 1/3 their length, glabrous, smooth or scabrous, persistent;
collars glabrous;
ligules 0.3-0.6 mm;
blades usually conduplicate and 0.5-1.2 mm in diameter, rarely flat and 1-2.5 mm wide, gray-green, deciduous, abaxial surfaces scabrous, adaxial surfaces scabrous or puberulent, veins (5)7-9, ribs 5-7, conspicuous;
abaxial sclerenchyma usually forming continuous or interrupted bands;
adaxial sclerenchyma present;
girders developed at the 3(5) major veins;
pillars developed at most other veins.
(5)10-20 cm, open, with 1-2 branches per node;
branches 1-15 cm, lax, widely spreading to reflexed, lower branches usually reflexed at maturity, with 2+ spikelets.
6-16 cm, usually more or less contracted, open at anthesis, with 1-2(3) branches per node;
branches erect or stiffly spreading, spikelets borne towards the ends of the branches.
6-12 mm, with 3-6(7) florets.
(6.5)7-9.5 mm, with 2-3(4) florets.
exceeded by the upper florets, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, glabrous and smooth or slightly scabrous;
lower glumes 2-5 mm;
upper glumes 3-6 mm;
lemmas (4)4.5-6.5(8) mm, ovate-lanceolate to attenuate, glabrous or finely puberulent, awns 3-12 mm, usually longer than the lemma bodies;
paleas slightly shorter than the lemmas, intercostal region scabrous or puberulent distally;
anthers (1)1.5-2(3) mm;
ovary apices densely pubescent.
about equaling or slightly exceeding the upper florets;
lower glumes 5-8(9.5) mm, about equaling or slightly longer than the adjacent lemmas;
upper glumes 6.2-8.5(9.5) mm;
lemmas 5.5-8(9) mm, chartaceous to somewhat coriaceous, scabrous, rounded below midlength, veins somewhat obscure, apices unawned or awned, awns 0.5-1.3 mm;
paleas somewhat shorter than the lemmas, intercostal region puberulent distally;
anthers 4-6 mm;
ovary apices sparsely pubescent.
= 28 [other numbers have been reported for this species, but are probably based on misidentifications].
= 28.
Festuca occidentalis
Festuca hallii
Festuca occidentalis grows in dry to moist, open woodlands, forest openings, and rocky slopes, up to 3100 m. It extends from southern Alaska and northern British Columbia to southwestern Alberta, south to southern California and eastward to Wyoming, and, as a disjunct, around the upper Great Lakes in Ontario, eastern Wisconsin, and Michigan. It is sometimes important as a forage grass, but is usually not sufficiently abundant.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Festuca hallii is a major component of grasslands in the northern Great Plains and the grassland-boreal forest transition zone, where it is an important source of forage. Its range extends from the Rocky Mountains of Canada east to western Ontario and south to Colorado. At the southern end of its range in Colorado, it grows in alpine meadows.
Festuca hallii differs from F. campestris (see next) in usually having short rhizomes, stiffly erect panicles, and smaller spikelets. Where the two species are sympatric, as in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, F. hallii is usually found at lower elevations.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
MI Flora, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
