Festuca L.
Poaceae, grass family.
Vegetative morphology. Plants perennial herbs; 2.5–25.6–120 cm high; caespitose, or not caespitose. Ground-level or under-ground stems horizontal, or not developed horizontally or vertically; rhizomatous; elongate, or compact; 0.5–1–2 mm wide. Scales present; smooth, or striate; 10–16–25 mm long; glabrous, or hairy. Aerial stems erect, or decumbent; circular or oval in cross-section; glabrous, or sparsely hairy. Leaves in a basal tuft; alternate; not distinctly distichous; marcescent. Prophylls 5–10–20 mm long; with smooth veins, or with hairy veins; with pronounced keels, or lacking pronounced keels. Petioles absent. Sheaths with the margins fused to the apex, or with the margins fused only in the lower part; glabrous, or with trichomes; pubescent, or hirsute; collars present. Ligules present; 0.1–0.3–0.6 mm long; membranous, or a fringed membrane; hairy; transversely oblong; apices acute, or truncate; entire, or erose, or cleft. Blades 10–80–200 mm long; 0.3–0.8–2 mm wide. Blades appressed to the stem, or spreading, or divaricate, or reflexed; folded in bud; linear; with sheath auricles, or with blade auricles, or without auricles; folded, or involute; midvein similar in size to other veins in the leaf. Blades adaxial surface glabrous, or scabrous, or hairy. Blades abaxial surface glabrous, or scabrous, or hairy.
Reproductive morphology. Flowering stems present. Flowering culm nodes not rooting at the lower nodes; not exposed, or becoming exposed; number visible 0–2. Flag leaf sheaths inflated, or not inflated. Inflorescence paniculate; dense, or diffuse; linear, or lanceolate, or ovate; 0.5–4–20 cm long; 4–12–40 mm wide; main axis glabrous, or scabrous, or hairy. Number of inflorescence branches at lowest node 0, or 1, or 2. Inflorescence primary branches 0.2–5–17 mm long; glabrous, or scabrous; with appressed secondary branches, or with spreading secondary branches. Spikelets pedicellate; disarticulating above the glumes; laterally compressed; lanceolate; 3–7–15 mm long; 0.3–2.2–5 mm wide. Florets per spikelet 2–6. First glume 0.58–1.215–4.6 × the length of the second glume; 0.25–0.3971–0.53 × spikelet length; 1–2.85–4 mm long; lanceolate; glabrous, or with trichomes; margins glabrous, or ciliate; veins 1; apex acuminate, or acute. Second glume 0.4 × as long as the spikelet or less, or 0.4–0.9 × as long as the spikelet; shorter than the lowest floret, or almost as long as, or longer than, the lowest floret; lanceolate, or ovate; 2.2–3.8–6 mm long; glabrous, or with trichomes; veins 1–2, or 3. Rachilla internode 0.1–0.9–1.2 mm long; glabrous, or scabrous, or hairy. Rachilla not pronounced between the florets; terminating in a vestigial floret, or extending beyond the uppermost floret. Lemma 2.9–4.6–6.2 mm long; ovate, or lanceolate; keeled, or rounded on the back; surface dull; surface sparsely scabrous, or hairy; surface with trichomes on veins only, or on and between the veins; veins 5. Lemma apex acuminate, or acute; entire, or erose, or bifid; glabrous, or ciliate; awnless (in proliferating specimens), or awned (usually). Awn arising from the tip, or from below the apex but above the middle; 0.1–1.4–3.3 mm long. Palea well developed (except F. viviparoidea); 3–4.5–6 mm long; with scabrous veins, or with hairy veins. Perianth reduced to lodicules. Stamens 3. Anthers 0.3–1.5–3.5 mm long. Gynoecia superior. Carpels syncarpous; 3. Styles 2. Ovules 1. Fruit sessile. Fruit dry; a caryopsis; indehiscent. Fruit 1.8–2.4–4 mm long. Seeds 1.
Chromosome information. 2n = 28, 42, 44, 49, 56, 62.
Notes. Generic description limited to the six taxa occurring in the eastern Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Cite this publication as: ‘S.G. Aiken, M.J. Dallwitz, L.L. Consaul, C.L. McJannet, L.J. Gillespie, R.L. Boles, G.W. Argus, J.M. Gillett, P.J. Scott, R. Elven, M.C. LeBlanc, A.K. Brysting and H. Solstad. 1999 onwards. Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 29th April 2003. http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/’. Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993, 1995, 2000) should also be cited (see References).