Festuca paradoxa |
Festuca glauca |
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cluster fescue |
blue fescue, fétuque glauque, gray fescue |
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Habit | Plants loosely cespitose, without rhizomes. | Plants densely cespitose, without rhizomes; usually glaucous or pruinose. |
Culms | 50-120 cm, glabrous. |
(15)22-35(50) cm, erect, glabrous, smooth. |
Sheaths | closed for less than 1/3 their length, glabrous, shredding into fibers; Iigules (0.2)0.5-1.5 mm; blades 2-8 mm wide, flat or loosely convolute, smooth or scabrous, veins 9-35, ribs obscure; abaxial sclerenchyma in narrow strands; adaxial sclerenchyma developed; girders or pillars usually associated with the major veins. |
closed for about 1/2 their length, pubescent or glabrous, persistent; collars glabrous; ligules 0.1-0.4 mm; blades 0.6-1 mm in diameter, conduplicate, veins 5-7, ribs 1-3(5), indistinct; abaxial sclerenchyma forming continuous or interrupted bands; adaxial sclerenchyma absent. |
Inflorescences | (5)10-20 cm, open, with 1-2 branches per node; branches lax, ascending to spreading, spikelets clustered towards the ends of the branches, closely imbricate. |
2.5-9(11) cm, compact, erect, with 1-2 branches per node; branches stiff, erect, smooth or scabrous, lower branches with 2+ spikelets. |
Spikelets | 4-7(7.5) mm, elliptic to obovate, with 3-5(8) florets. |
5.5-9(11) mm, with 3-6(7) florets. |
Glumes | lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, scabrous at least on the veins; lower glumes (2.5)3-4(5) mm, usually almost as long as the adjacent lemmas; upper glumes (3.5)4-5(5.5) mm; lemmas 4-5(5.2) mm, stiffly chartaceous, ovate to obovate, glabrous, somewhat acute, unawned; paleas as long as or slightly shorter than the lemmas, intercostal region smooth or scabrous distally; anthers (0.7)1-2(2.5) mm; ovary apices pubescent. |
exceeded by the upper florets, ovate-lanceolate to ovate, glabrous or pubescent distally; lower glumes (1.8)2-3(4) mm; upper glumes 2.8-4(5.1) mm; lemmas (3.5)4-6(6.2) mm, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, smooth or scabrous near the apices, sometimes pubescent distally, awns (0.6)1-1.5(2) mm, terminal; paleas about equal to the lemmas, intercostal region puberulent distally; anthers (1.8)2-3 mm; ovary apices glabrous. |
2n | = unknown. |
= 42 [in European literature for the horticultural forms]. |
Festuca paradoxa |
Festuca glauca |
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Distribution |
AL; AR; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MD; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WI; ON; QC
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Discussion | Festuca paradoxa grows in prairies, open woods, thickets, and low open ground, from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania, south to northeastern Texas and northern Georgia. It resembles F. subverticillata (see previous), but its spikelets are more crowded on the branches. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Festuca glauca is widely grown as an ornamental in the Flora region because of its attractive dense tufts of glaucous foliage. It is not known to have escaped cultivation. Several other Eurasian species of fescue with white or bluish foliage are also sold in the horticultural trade as "Festuca glauca". Determining the species involved is beyond the scope of this treatment. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 24, p. 402. | FNA vol. 24, p. 422. |
Parent taxa | Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Festuca | Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Festuca > subg. Festuca > sect. Festuca |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | F. shortii | |
Name authority | Desv. | Vill. |
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