Festuca japonica Makino

Although the presence of this species in Taiwan was mentioned by several Japanese authors, there is no Taiwan specimens examined.

The relationships of this species are uncertain, although it has been placed in Festuca subg. Drymanthele.

Culm desely tufted, 30-60 cm tall, 1 mm in diameter. Blade linear, 5- 10 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, minute hairy above, glabrous beneath; sheath smooth. Panicles 7-15 cm long; branches usually paired, lower part naked, with 1-4-spikelets near the apex. Spikelets 4-6 mm long, 3-4-flowered; glumes minute, membranous; the lower 1.2-2 mm long; the upper 2-2.8 mm long, weakly 3-nerved; lemmas 3-4 mm long, lustrous, 5-nerved including weak marginal pair, apex acute; palea as long as lemmas; anthers 1.5 mm long.

Plant loosely tufted or turf-forming, shortly rhizomatous; shoots extravaginal. Culms 30–75 cm tall, nodes 1–2(–3). Leaf sheaths smooth, loose; auricles absent; leaf blades flat or involute, 5–20 cm × 1–2.5 mm, veins 5, adaxial surface scabrid, abaxial surface smooth; adaxial to abaxial sclerenchyma strands absent; abaxial sclerenchyma in narrow discrete strands; ligule 0.2–0.5(–1) mm, margin ciliolate or not. Panicle loose, open, pyramidal, (7–)10–20 cm; branches horizontal or pendulous, (2–)4.5–9 cm, (1–)2 at lowest node, lower 2/3–3/4 naked. Spikelets 4–6 mm; florets 2–3(–4); glumes glabrous, margins membranous; lower glume lanceolate, 1–1.5 mm; upper glume ovate, 1.5–2 mm; rachilla internodes 0.4–0.8 mm; lemmas 3.5–4 mm, smooth; awns absent; palea keels scaberulous to ciliolate toward apex. Anthers 1.2–1.6(–2) mm. Ovary apex moderately hairy. Fl. and fr. May–Aug.

Distsributed in Japan, southern Korea and China.

Anhui, Gansu, Guizhou, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Japan, Korea].

Forests, grasslands, roadsides, streamsides; 1300–3100 m.

Festuca fauriei Hackel.