Festuca L.
Poaceae, grass family.
Plants caespitose, or not caespitose; less than 15 cm high, or more than 15 cm high; 2.5–25.6–120 cm high. Ground-level or under-ground stems horizontal, or not developed horizontally or vertically underground; 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 mostly basal; 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 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; appressed to the stem, or spreading from the vertical, 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; adaxial surface glabrous, or scabrous, or hairy. Blades abaxial surface glabrous, or scabrous, or hairy.
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. Inflorescences paniculate; inflorescence dense, or diffuse; inflorescence linear, or lanceolate, or ovate; inflorescence 0.5–4–20 cm long; inflorescence 4–12–40 mm wide; inflorescence 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; 2.2–3.8–6 mm long; lanceolate, or ovate; 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; ciliate, or not 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. Carpels syncarpous; 3. Gynoecia superior. Styles 2. Ovules 1. Fruit a caryopsis; indehiscent; 1.8–2.4–4 mm long; sessile; dry. Seeds 1.
Chromosome information. 2n = 28, 42, 44, 49, 56, 62.
Notes. Generic description limited to the six taxa occurring in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Cite this publication as: ‘S.G. Aiken, M.J. Dallwitz, L.L.Consaul, R.L. Boles, R. Elven and M.E. LeBlanc. 2001 onwards. Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Volume 1. Pteridophytes and Monocotyledons: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 16th March 2001. http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/’. Dallwitz (1980), Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993, 1995, 2000), and Aiken, Dallwitz et al. (1999) should also be cited (see References).