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bearded fescue, nodding fescue

Guadalupe fescue

Habit Plants loosely cespitose, without rhizomes, with short extravaginal tillers. Plants loosely to densely cespitose, with short rhizomes.
Culms

(35)50-100(120) cm, erect or decumbent at the base, scabrous.

45-80 cm, erect or the bases decumbent, scabrous near the inflorescence.

Sheaths

closed for less than 73 their length, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, shredding into fibers;

collars glabrous;

ligules 0.2-0.6(1) mm;

blades 3-10 mm wide, flat or loosely convolute, abaxial and adaxial surfaces scabrous or puberulent, veins 13-29, ribs obscure;

sclerenchyma in narrow abaxial and adaxial strands;

pillars or girders formed at the major veins.

closed for less than 1/3 their length, glabrous or finely scabrous;

collars glabrous;

ligules 3-5(8) mm;

blades 1-3 mm wide when flat, 0.6-1.2 mm in diameter when conduplicate, persistent, abaxial surfaces glabrous, smooth to sparsely scabrous, adaxial surfaces scabrous, veins (5)7-9, ribs 5-9;

abaxial sclerenchyma in strands opposite the veins, rarely a discontinuous band;

adaxial sclerenchyma sometimes present;

girders sometimes present at the major veins;

pillars usually present if the girders not developed.

Inflorescences

10-40 cm, open, with 1-2(5) branches per node;

branches lax, usually spreading, sometimes reflexed.

6-10(16) cm, contracted or loosely open, with 1-2(3) branches per node;

branches erect or spreading, lower branches sometimes reflexed, spikelets borne towards the ends of the branches.

Spikelets

6-12 mm, with (2)3-5(6) florets.

6-8.5 mm, with 2-3(4) florets.

Glumes

sparsely scabrous towards the apices, acuminate to subulate;

lower glumes (1.8)2-3(4) mm;

upper glumes (2)3-6 mm;

calluses wider than long, glabrous, smooth or slightly scabrous;

lemmas 5-9 mm, glabrous, sometimes sparsely scabrous, lanceolate, apices entire, acute to acuminate, awned, awns (2.5) 5-15(20) mm, terminal, straight, sometimes curved or kinked;

paleas about as long as or slightly longer than the lemmas, intercostal region puberulent distally;

anthers 1.5-2.5(3) mm;

ovary apices pubescent.

scabrous, acute;

lower glumes 3-4(5.5) mm;

upper glumes 3.5-5.5(6.5) mm;

lemmas 4-6.5 mm, ovate-lanceolate, glabrous, smooth or sparsely scabrous towards the apices, unawned;

paleas as long as to slightly longer than the lemmas, intercostal region puberulent distally;

anthers 1.5-2.6 mm;

ovary apices pubescent.

2n

= 28.

= unknown.

Festuca subulata

Festuca ligulata

Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Festuca subulata grows on stream banks and in open woods, meadows, shady forests, and thickets, to about 2800 m. Its range extends from the southern Alaska panhandle eastward to southwestern Alberta and western South Dakota, and southward to central California and Colorado.

Festuca subulata differs from F. subuliflora (p. 406) in having blunter, glabrous calluses and glabrous, often scabrous or puberulent leaf blades that are obscurely ribbed.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Festuca ligulata grows on moist, shady slopes in the mountains of western Texas and north-central Mexico. It is listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of the United States.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 24, p. 402. FNA vol. 24, p. 408.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Festuca > subg. Subulatae > sect. Subulatae Poaceae > subfam. Pooideae > tribe Poeae > Festuca > subg. Festuca > sect. Breviaristatae
Sibling taxa
F. altaica, F. amethystina, F. arizonica, F. auriculata, F. baffinensis, F. brachyphylla, F. brevissima, F. californica, F. calligera, F. campestris, F. dasyclada, F. earlei, F. edlundiae, F. elmeri, F. filiformis, F. frederikseniae, F. glauca, F. groenlandica, F. hallii, F. heterophylla, F. hyperborea, F. idahoensis, F. lenensis, F. ligulata, F. minutiflora, F. occidentalis, F. ovina, F. paradoxa, F. prolifera, F. pseudovivipara, F. roemeri, F. rubra, F. saximontana, F. sororia, F. subuliflora, F. subverticillata, F. thurberi, F. trachyphylla, F. valesiaca, F. versuta, F. viridula, F. viviparoidea, F. washingtonica
F. altaica, F. amethystina, F. arizonica, F. auriculata, F. baffinensis, F. brachyphylla, F. brevissima, F. californica, F. calligera, F. campestris, F. dasyclada, F. earlei, F. edlundiae, F. elmeri, F. filiformis, F. frederikseniae, F. glauca, F. groenlandica, F. hallii, F. heterophylla, F. hyperborea, F. idahoensis, F. lenensis, F. minutiflora, F. occidentalis, F. ovina, F. paradoxa, F. prolifera, F. pseudovivipara, F. roemeri, F. rubra, F. saximontana, F. sororia, F. subulata, F. subuliflora, F. subverticillata, F. thurberi, F. trachyphylla, F. valesiaca, F. versuta, F. viridula, F. viviparoidea, F. washingtonica
Name authority Trin. Swallen
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