Red Fescue

Many infraspecific taxa have been described, in which, Festuca rubra var. nankotaizanensis Ohwi and Festuca rubra var. nittakaensis Ohwi were recorded in Taiwan.

Festuca rubra is a very polymorphic species, widespread in temperate and cold regions of the N hemisphere, and useful for pastures and lawns. Members of the complex (nos. 35–42) may be identified by the presence of young tiller leaf sheaths that are fused in a tube almost to the top. Look for this character if the leaf sheaths are reddish brown with retrorse hairs and the older leaf sheaths are fibrous. Leaf cross sections of the F. rubra complex are characteristic, with small patches of sclerenchyma under the lower epidermis, but no strands running across the leaf.

There are numerous variants, and many infraspecific taxa have been described. The following subspecies can be recognized in China.

Culm 25-30 cm tall, less than 0.5 mm in diameter. Blade needle-like, 5-10 cm long, 1-2 mm wide, subcoriaceous, nerves conspicuous; ligule chartaceous, less than 0.5 mm long, truncate, minutely ciliate. Pacicle narrow contracted, 7 mm long. Spikelets 3-6-flowered, up to 12 mm long; lower glume chartaceous, linear-lanceolate, 1-nerved, 3-7 mm long,upper glume lanceolate, chartaceous, 3-nerved, 4-8 mm long, margins minutely hairy; lemma subcoriaceous, minutely ciliate on keels; anther 1-2.5 mm long. Caryopsis cylindrical, 4 mm long; hilum linear.

Plants loosely tufted, shortly rhizomatous; shoots extravaginal; basal sheaths reddish brown. Culms 15–60(–100) cm tall, nodes 1–3. Leaf sheaths glabrous or with retrose hairs, occasionally reddish; auricles present as erect swellings or absent; leaf blades setaceous, conduplicate or culm blades flat, 6–30 cm × 0.4–1 mm (to 4 mm when flat), veins 5–7; adaxial to abaxial sclerenchyma strands absent, abaxial sclerenchyma in narrow discrete strands; ligule 0.1–0.5 mm, margin without cilia. Panicle fairly loose, 5–14(–20) cm; branches 1.5–8 cm, scabrid or hairy, 1–4 at lowest node. Spikelets 6–13 mm, green or purple; florets 2–6(–10); glumes smooth or slightly scabrid; lower glume narrowly lanceolate, 2–3.5(–4.5) mm; upper glume broadly lanceolate, 3.5–5.5(–6) mm; rachilla internodes ca. 0.8 mm, pubescent; lemmas smooth, scabrid or pubescent, (4–)5–7(–8) mm; awns (0.3–)1–3.5(–5) mm, rarely awnless; palea keels scabrid toward apex. Anthers (1–)2–3.7 mm. Ovary apex glabrous. 2n = 14, 21, 28, 42, 49, 53, 56, 64, 70.

Loosely to densely tufted rhizomatous perennial; culms 15-90cm high, erect or spreading, slender and wiry. Leaf-blades folded-setaceous, those on the culm often opening out, up to 40cm long, smooth on the lower (outer) surface, green or greyish-green, with 7-11 quite separate ± equal sclerenchyma strands, 1 on the keel, 1 along each margin and 1 below each of the lateral nerves; ligule a narrow rim c. 0.5 mm long. Panicle lanceolate to oblong, 3-17cm long, erect or nodding, loose, open or eventually contracted, the branches smooth, scabrid or hairy. Spikelets 3-9-flowered, 5-14mm long (excluding the awns); lower glume 2-3.5mm long, 1-nerved; upper glume 3.5-5mm long, 3-nerved; lemmas narrowly lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate in side-view, 4-7.5 mm long, scaberulous towards the tip, glabrous or hairy on the back, with an awn (0.8-) 1.2-5 mm long; palea scabrid along the keels, anthers 2-3 mm long; ovary glabrous or very sparsely hairy.

N. hemisphere.

Widely distributed in temperate and subarctic region of Northern Hemisphere.

Widespread and common in China [temperate regions of N hemisphere].

4200 m

Grassy slopes, roadsides, alpine meadows, other grassy places, in sun or shade; 600–4500 m.

Festuca rubra L. var. nankotaizanensis Ohwi, Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 5: 52. 1936.
Festuca rubra L. var. niitakensis Ohwi, Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 5: 53. 1936.