Festuca paradoxa |
Festuca ovina |
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cluster fescue |
fétuque des ovins, sheep fescue |
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Habit | Plants loosely cespitose, without rhizomes. | Plants densely cespitose, without rhizomes; usually not glaucous. |
Culms | 50-120 cm, glabrous. |
(10)30-50(70) cm, 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, glabrous, smooth or scabrous distally, persistent; collars glabrous; ligules shorter than 0.3 mm; blades 0.3-0.7(1.2) mm in diameter, conduplicate, abaxial surfaces smooth or scabrous, adaxial surfaces scabrous, veins 5-7(9), ribs 1-3, indistinct; abaxial sclerenchyma usually a continuous band; 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)5-10(12) cm, contracted, with 1-2(3) branches per node; branches usually erect, sometimes spreading at anthesis, lower branches with 2+ spikelets. |
Spikelets | 4-7(7.5) mm, elliptic to obovate, with 3-5(8) florets. |
4-6(7.3) mm, with 3-6(8) 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, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, mostly smooth and glabrous, sometimes scabrous distally; lower glumes 1-2(3) mm; upper glumes (2.2)2.6-4(4.6) mm; lemmas (2.6)3-4(5) mm, ovate-lanceolate, mostly smooth, sometimes scabrous or hispid near the apices, awns 0.5-2 mm, terminal, sometimes absent; paleas about equal to the lemmas, intercostal region puberulent distally; anthers (1.4)2-2.6 mm; ovary apices glabrous. |
2n | = unknown. |
= 14, 28. |
Festuca paradoxa |
Festuca ovina |
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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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CA; CT; DE; IL; KY; MA; ME; MO; NH; NJ; NY; OR; RI; SC; UT; VT; WA
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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 ovina was introduced from Europe as a turf grass. It is not presently used in the North American seed trade. The sporadic occurrences are mostly from old lawns and cemeteries, or sites seeded for soil stabilization. Festuca ovina used to be interpreted very broadly in North America, including almost any fine-leaved fescue that lacked rhizomes. Consequently, much of the information reported for F. ovina, and many of the specimens identified as such, belong to other species. The only confirmed recent reports are from Ontario (Dore & McNeill 1980); Piatt County, Illinois; and Okanogan County, Washington. Species in this treatment that have frequently been included in F. ovina are F. arizonica (p. 438), F. auriculata (p. 424), F. baffinensis (p. 432), F. brachyphylla (p. 428), F. brevissima (p. 426), F. calligera (p. 437), F. edlundiae (p. 432), F. frederikseniae (p. 436), F. hyperborea (p. 432), F. idahoensis (p. 438), F. lenensis (p. 426), F. minutiflora (p. 434), F. saximontana (p. 430), F. trachyphylla (p. 424), and F. viviparoidea (p. 436). (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. | L. |
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