Festuca paradoxa |
Festuca viridula |
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cluster fescue |
green fescue, green-leaf fescue, mountain bunch fescue, mountain bunch grass |
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Habit | Plants loosely cespitose, without rhizomes. | Plants loosely or densely cespitose, without rhizomes. |
Culms | 50-120 cm, glabrous. |
35-80(100) cm, smooth, glabrous throughout; nodes usually not exposed. |
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 less than 1/2 their length, usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent, strongly reined, persistent or slowly shredding into fibers; collars glabrous; ligules (0.2)0.3-0.8(1) mm; blades 0.5-1.3 mm in diameter when conduplicate, to 2.5 mm wide when flat, persistent, abaxial surfaces glabrous and smooth, adaxial surfaces scabrous or pubescent, veins 5-9(12), ribs 5-9, blades of the lower cauline leaves usually reduced to stiff horny points, blades of the upper cauline leaves longer and more flexuous; abaxial sclerenchyma in strands about as wide as the adjacent veins; adaxial sclerenchyma developed; pillars and girders often present. |
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. |
(4)8-15 cm, open or somewhat contracted, with 1-2 branches per node; branches lax, spreading or loosely erect, lower branches with 2+ spikelets. |
Spikelets | 4-7(7.5) mm, elliptic to obovate, with 3-5(8) florets. |
9-15 mm, with (2)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 lanceolate, glabrous, smooth or scabridulous distally; lower glumes (2.4)2.8-5 mm, distinctly shorter than the adjacent lemmas; upper glumes 4.5-7(8.5) mm; lemmas (4.8)6-8.5 mm, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, glabrous, smooth or slightly scabrous, apices acute, unawned or awned, awns 0.2-1.5(2) mm; paleas about as long as the lemmas, intercostal region scabrous or puberulent distally; anthers (2)2.5-4(5) mm; ovary apices densely pubescent. |
2n | = unknown. |
= 28. |
Festuca paradoxa |
Festuca viridula |
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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; ID; MT; NV; OR; WA; BC
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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 viridula grows in low alpine and subalpine meadows, forest openings, and open forests, at (900)1500-3000 m, from southern British Columbia east to Montana and south to central California and Nevada. It is highly palatable to livestock, and is an important forage species in some areas. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 24, p. 402. | FNA vol. 24, p. 440. |
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. | Vasey |
Web links |
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