Fescue
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Festuca (ancient Latin name for a kind of grass). Gramineae. Fescue-grass. Annual or perennial grasses grown for ornament or as pasture grasses.
Blades narrow: infl. few-fld., paniculate; spikelets 2- to several-fld.; lemmas firm, rounded on the back, usually acute or awned from the tip.—Species about 100, in the temperate and cooler parts of the world.
Festuce (Festuca) is a genus of about 300 species of perennial tufted grasses, belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, although the majority of the species are found in cool temperate areas, such as the transition zone and Canada[1]. The genus is closely related to ryegrass (Lolium), and recent evidence from phylogenetic studies using DNA sequencing of plant mitochondrial DNA shows that the genus lacks monophyly. As a result plant taxonomists have placed several species, including the forage grasses, tall fescue and meadow fescue, formerly belonging to the genus Festuca into the genus Lolium.[2]
Fescues range from small grasses only 10 cm tall or less with very fine thread-like leaves less than 1 mm wide, to tall grasses up to 2 m tall with large leaves up to 60 cm (2 ft) long and 2 cm (3/4 in.) broad.
Fescue pollen is a significant contributor to hay fever.
Cultivation
Propagation
Pests and diseases
Species
Selected species:
- Festuca altaica — Northern Rough Fescue
- Festuca alpina — Alpine Fescue
- Festuca altissima — Wood Fescue
- Festuca amethystina — Tufted Fescue
- Festuca amplissima
- Festuca arizonica — Arizona Fescue
- Festuca arvernensis
- Festuca caesia — Blue Fescue
- Festuca californica - California Fescue
- Festuca cinerea
- Festuca diffusa — Northern Fescue
- Festuca donax
- Festuca elegans
- Festuca elmeri - Coast Fescue
- Festuca eskia
- Festuca gautieri
- Festuca glacialis
- Festuca glauca — Grey Fescue
- Festuca heterophylla — Various-leaved Fescue
- Festuca hallii — Plains Rough Fescue
- Festuca idahoensis — Idaho Fescue
- Festuca jubata
- Festuca juncifolia — Rush-leaved Fescue
- Festuca longifolia
- Festuca mairei — Atlas Fescue
- Festuca matthewsii — Alpine Fescue Tussock
- Festuca nigrescens — Alpine Chewing's Fescue
- Festuca novae-zealandiae — Fescue Tussock
- Festuca occidentalis - Western Fescue
- Festuca ovina — Sheep's Fescue
- Festuca paniculata — East Alpine Violet Fescue
- Festuca picturata
- Festuca pilgeri
- Festuca polesica
- Festuca pratensis
- Festuca pseudodura
- Festuca punctoria
- Festuca pyrenaica
- Festuca quadriflora
- Festuca richardsonii — Arctic Fescue
- Festuca rubra — Red Fescue
- Festuca rubra subsp. commutata — Chewing's Fescue
- Festuca rupicola
- Festuca sativa
- Festuca scabrella - Rough Fescue
- Festuca subulata - Bearded Fescue
- Festuca subulifolia - Crinkleawn Fescue
- Festuca supina - Tufted Fescue
- Festuca tenuifolia — Fine-leaved Sheep's Fescue
- Festuca valesiaca
- Festuca varia
- Festuca viridula - Green Fescue
- Festuca vivipara — Viviparous Fescue
Subgenus Schedonorus, proposed for inclusion in genus Lolium
- Festuca arundinacea (syn. Festuca elatior, Lolium arundinaceum) — Tall Fescue
- Festuca gigantea (Lolium giganteum) — Giant Fescue
- Festuca mazzettiana (Lolium mazzettianum)
- Festuca pratensis (Lolium pratensis) — Meadow Fescue
Gallery
photo 1
photo 2
photo 3
References
- ↑ Tall Fescue Grasses & Fine Fescues
- ↑ Darbyshire, S J (1993). "Realignment of Festuca subgenus Schedonorus with the genus Lolium (Poaceae)". Novon 3: 239–243. doi:10.2307/3391460.
