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• Poaceae
• Poaceae Group 4
• Festuca
• Festuca rubra

Festuca rubra — red fescue

Facts

Red fescue is a highly variable species with a circumboreal distribution. Four subspecies exist in New England, of which only one (Festuca rubra ssp. pruinosa) is native, and restricted to Atlantic coast beaches, headlands, and near-coastal habitats. The other subspecies are typically weeds of human-disturbed habitats. Strains of red fescue have been used extensively for rehabilitation of disturbed sites such as mine tailings.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), cliffs, balds, or ledges, coastal beaches (sea beaches), meadows and fields, talus and rocky slopes

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Anther length

  1.8–4.5 mm

  Anther number

  3

  Awn on glume

  the glume has no awn

  Bristles below spikelets

  no

  Floret lower bract texture

  the lemma is thin and flexible

  Floret number

  3–10

  Floret types within spikelet

  all the florets within a spikelet are similar

  Glume awn length

  0 mm

  Glume keel

  • the glume keels are rough or hairy
  • the glume keels are smooth and hairless

  Glume relative length

  neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets

  Glume shape

  the glume is V-shaped in cross-section

  Glume veins

  • 1
  • 3

  Glumes per spikelet

  2

  Inflorescence arrangement

  the spikelets are uniform

  Inflorescence axis orientation

  the inflorescence axis is straight

  Inflorescence branch roughness

  • the inflorescence branches are smooth or only slightly rough
  • the inflorescence branches are somewhat to very rough

  Inflorescence branches

  the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence

  Inflorescence branches coming off the lowest stem node

  1–3

  Inflorescence crowding

  the panicle is somewhat to very spread out, with clearly-evident branches

  Inflorescence length

  30–300 mm

  Inflorescence length to width ratio

  3–10

  Inflorescence type (general)

  the spikelets are borne on stalks or on branches

  Inflorescence type (specific)

  the inflorescence is branched, and the branches do NOT both grow from the same side of the plant AND look like spikes

  Inflorescence width

  10–30 mm

  Inforescence position

  the spikelets are mainly carried at the end of the stem

  Lemma awn base

  the awn is attached right at the tip of the lemma

  Lemma awn coiled

  the lemma awn is straight or twisted, but not coiled one half turn

  Lemma awn length

  0.1–4 mm

  Lemma awn number

  the lemma has one awn on it

  Lemma awn orientation

  the awn of the lemma is straight

  Lemma base hair length

  0 mm

  Lemma base hairs

  the lemma is hairless or feels just a tiny bit rough at the base

  Lemma cross-section

  • the lemma is V-shaped if you cut across the midpoint
  • the lemma is flat or rounded if you cut across the midpoint

  Lemma hairs

  • the lemma has fine hairs between the veins
  • the lemma is hairless between the veins

  Lemma keel hairs

  the keel of the lemma is hairless

  Lemma marginal vein hairs

  the marginal vein of the lemma is hairless

  Lemma surface

  the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)

  Lemma tip

  the lemma tip is a simple point, with or without an awn (long narrow extension ending in a point)

  Lemma tip shape

  • the lemma tip tapers to a long narrow point (it may or may not also have an awn or teeth at the tip)
  • the lemma tip tapers to a narrow point (it may or may not also have an awn or teeth at the tip)

  Lemma vein number

  • 1
  • 5

  Lemma vein orientation

  the veins on the lemma come together near the tip

  Lower glume length

  2.2–7 mm

  Lower glume relative length

  • the lower glume is nearly as long, or as long as, the upper glume
  • the lower glume is one third to three quarters as long as the upper glume

  One or more florets

  there is more than one floret per spikelet

  Palea length

  4.5–7 mm

  Palea relative length

  palea is one half to fully as long as lemma

  Reproductive system

  all the flowers on the plant have both carpels and stamens (synoecious)

  Spikelet axis tip

  there is no extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet

  Spikelet disintegration

  the spikelet breaks off above the glumes, so that after the florets fall off, the glumes remain

  Spikelet length

  7–17 mm

  Spikelet number per node

  0

  Spikelet pedicel

  the spikelets have pedicels

  Spikelet position

  • the spikelets emerge from both the upper and lower halves of the inflorescence branches
  • the spikelets emerge mainly from the upper halves of the inflorescence branches

  Spikelet width

  3–4 mm

  Spikelets per panicle branch

  At least 2

  Spikelets spiny

  the spikelets do not appear spiny

  Tip of glume

  the tip of the glume is not divided (though it may have an awn on it)

  Upper glume length

  3.5–8.5 mm

  Upper glume relative length

  the upper glume is more than one half as long as the lowest lemma

  Upper glume shape

  the upper glume is widest at or below the middle

• Fruits or seeds

  Groove on seed

  the caryopsis has a groove running most of its length

  Seed length

  2–4.5 mm

• Growth form

  Horizontal rooting stem

  • no
  • yes

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Rhizomes

  • no
  • yes

  Roots

  • the plant has rhizomes (horizontal underground stem with roots growing from it)
  • there are only slender roots on the plant

• Leaves

  Basal leaves

  the plant has large or prominent tufts of leaves at the base of the flowering stem

  Leaf auricles

  • the leaves do not have auricles
  • the leaves have auricles

  Leaf basal lobe hairy

  • NA
  • the lobes at the base of the leaf blades are hairless

  Leaf blade base

  the leaf is tapered gradually to the base

  Leaf blade cross-section

  • the leaf blade is clearly folded or rolled inwards
  • the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section, or slightly folded or rolled inwards

  Leaf blade hairs

  the leaf blade is hairless, but it may have tiny prickles that give it a sand-papery feel

  Leaf blade length

  Up to 15 cm

  Leaf blade texture

  • the leaf blade is rough and sandpapery
  • the leaf blade is smooth, or it may have soft hairs

  Leaf blade width

  0.3–3 mm

  Leaf ligule length

  0.1–0.5 mm

  Leaf ligule type

  • the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane
  • the leaf ligule is in the form of a membrane with fine hairs

  Leaf margin glands

  there are no glands along the edges of the leaf blade

  Leaf sheath closed around stem

  the margins of the leaf sheath are fused together and form a closed tube except (possibly) at the very top

  Leaf sheath color and persistence

  the leaf sheathes are reddish-brown and disintegrate or become shredded in older leaves

  Leaf sheath hair type

  there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath, but the hairs do not have blisters at their bases

  Leaf sheath hairs

  there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath

  Orientation of topmost leaf

  the flag leaf is held upright, or at less than a 45 degree angle out from the stem

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • cliffs, balds, or ledges
  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • meadows or fields
  • sea beaches
  • talus or rocky slopes

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Hairs at nodes

  the stem nodes are hairless or they have very sparse hairs

  Plant height

  15–130 cm

  Roots at lower stem nodes

  • no
  • yes

  Stem hairs

  the stem is nearly to completely hairless

  Stem node number

  1–3

  Stem orientation

  • the stems are upright
  • the stems trail at the base, but turn upwards at the tips

  Stem spacing

  • the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts
  • the stems grow singly or a few together (they may form diffuse colonies)

Wetland status

Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but occasionally in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACU)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae