Festuca

The genus Festuca represents a major evolutionary line of the tribe Poeae. The ancient group has produced various segregates that possess more advanced characteristics than Festuca, including racemose inflorescences and more annual habits. The word "festuca" is a Latin word meaning "stem" or "stalk", first used by Pliny the Elder to describe a weed. For example in 1906, the subgenus Vulpia was introduced for North American species. The annual habit and shorter anthers of Vulpia have since been enough to distinguish Vulpia as a separate genus from Festuca. The taxonomy of the genus is ultimately problematic and controversial, as evidenced by the large number of small genera closely related to Festuca. Often, distinguishing species within the genus requires the analysis of highly specific morphological differences on characters such as ovary pubescence or leaf sclerenchyma patterns. This distribution of sclerenchyma tissue is an important distinguishing characteristic between species, and though species can be locally distinguished without analyzing these characteristics, to distinguish the genus as a whole, the analysis is necessary. ==Description==

Festuca grasses are perennial and bisexual plants that are densely to loosely cespitose. Some grasses are rhizomatous, some lack rhizomes, and rarely species are stoloniferous. The culms of the grasses are typically glabrous and smooth, though some species have scabrous culms or culms that are pubescent below the inflorescences. The leaf sheaths range from open to the base to closed to the top. Some species have sheaths that persist over years and typically have deciduous blades, and some species have sheaths that quickly shred into fibers and decay in senescence and typically have blades that are not deciduous. Species lack auricles. The membranous ligules measure and are typically longest at the margins. The ligules are typically truncate and ciliate, though they can occasionally be acute or erose. The flat and conduplicate leaf blades are involute or convolute and are sometimes glaucous or pruinose. The abaxial surfaces of leaf blades are glabrous or scabrous and occasionally pubescent or puberulent. The adaxial surfaces of leaf blades are typically scabrous, though occasionally are hirsute or puberulent. The abaxial sclerenchyma tissue forms longitudinal strands that vary in presence from the margins and opposite of the midvein to adjacent to some or every lateral vein. These longitudinal strands occasionally merge into interrupted or continuous bands. Bands of confluent strands that reach veins are known as "pillars". The adaxial sclerenchyma tissue sometimes forms strands that are opposite or extend to epidermal veins. Some strands form "girders" together with the abaxial sclerenchyma tissue that connect epidermides at some or all veins. The inflorescences of species are open or contracted panicles, occasionally racemes, with one to two (rarely three) branches at their lower node. The branches are erect and begin to spread during anthesis, and occasionally lower branches are reflexed. The spikelets have 2-12, mostly bisexual florets. The rachillas are typically either scabrous or pubescent, but can occasionally be smooth and glabrous. The subequal or unequal glumes are ovate to lanceolate, acute to acuminate, and are typically exceeded by the florets. The lower glumes are as long or shorter than their adjacent lemmas and have one (rarely two or three) veins, and the upper glumes have three (rarely four or five) veins. The calli are typically glabrous and smooth, but can be occasionally scabrous or rarely pubescent. The chartaceous or sometimes coriaceous lemmas have somewhat dorsally rounded and distally keeled bases. The lemmas typically have five (rarely six or seven) veins. The lemmas have acute to attenuate apices that are occasionally doubly pointed, and terminal awns or mucros. The bidentate paleas are shorter to longer than the lemmas, with scabrous-ciliate veins. The regions between the veins are smooth and glabrous near the base of the paleas and become scabrous or puberulent distally. All grasses have three anthers. The ovaries are glabrous with occasionally hispidulous apices on which hairs persist when ovaries become caryopses. The oblong caryopses have adaxial grooves. The linear hila vary in length from half as long to as long as the caryopses. ==Uses==

Some fescues are used as ornamental and turf grasses and as pasture and hay for livestock, being a highly nutritious stock feed. trigged by the removal of deep root systems for row crop cultivation. Fescues have been used as building material, as rope and as a variety of other things in indigenous Ethiopian communities, in particular the Guassa Community Conservation Area where it is referred to as 'Guassa Grass'. The grasses F. amethystina, F. cinerea, F. elegans, F. glauca, and F. pallens are all grown as ornamentals. During the last three months of pregnancy fescue poisoning increases the risk of spontaneous abortion, stillbirths, retained placenta, absent milk production, and prolonged pregnancy. Incorporating legumes into the fescue can be a way to increase livestock gains and conception rates, even if the fescue is infected. ==Infrageneric ranks==

Infrageneric ranks: • Festuca sect. Amphigenes (Janka) Tzvelev • Festuca sect. Aristulatae E.B. Alexeev • Festuca subg. Asperifolia E.B. Alexeev 1981 • Festuca sect. Atropis (Trin.) 1936 • Festuca sect. Aulaxyper Dumort. • Festuca subg. Austrofestuca Tzvelev 1971 • Festuca sect. Banksia E.B. Alexeev 1984 • Festuca [unranked] Bovinae Fr. ex Andersson 1852 • Festuca sect. Bovinae (Fr. ex Andersson) Hack. 1882 • Festuca sect. Breviaristatae Krivot. 1960 • Festuca sect. Bromochloa Drejer ==Species==

Over 660 species are currently accepted. • Festuca abyssinica • Festuca actae • Festuca alatavica • Festuca aloha – aloha fescue • Festuca alpina – alpine fescue • Festuca altaica – northern rough fescue, Altai fescue • Festuca altissima – wood fescue • Festuca amethystina – tufted fescue • Festuca ampla • Festuca amplissima • Festuca arenaria – rush-leaf fescue • Festuca argentina • Festuca arizonica – Arizona fescue, pinegrass • Festuca armoricana • Festuca arvernensis – field fescue • Festuca baffinensis – Baffin Island fescue • Festuca beckeri • Festuca brachyphylla – alpine fescue, rock fescue • Festuca breviglumis – Swallen • Festuca brunnescens • Festuca burnatii • Festuca caerulescens • Festuca caldasii • Festuca californica – California fescue • Festuca callieri • Festuca calligera – southwestern fescue • Festuca campestris – mountain rough fescue • Festuca caprina • Festuca chimborazensis • Festuca cinerea • Festuca circinata • Festuca contracta – tufted fescue • Festuca cretacea • Festuca cumminsii • Festuca chrysophylla • Festuca dahurica • Festuca dasyclada – oil shale fescue • Festuca densipaniculata • Festuca dimorpha • Festuca djimilensis • Festuca dolichophylla • Festuca donax • Festuca drymeja • Festuca durissima • Festuca earlei – Earle's fescue • Festuca edlundiae – Edlund's fescue • Festuca elegans • Festuca elmeri – coast fescue • Festuca eskia • Festuca extremiorientalis • Festuca filiformis – fine-leaved sheep's fescue • Festuca flacca • Festuca frederikseniae • Festuca gautieri – bearskin fescue • Festuca gigantea – giant fescue • Festuca glacialis • Festuca glauca – blue fescue, gray fescue • Festuca glumosa • Festuca gracillima • Festuca hallii – plains rough fescue • Festuca hawaiiensis – Hawaii fescue • Festuca heterophylla – various-leaved fescue, shade fescue • Festuca hyperborea – boreal fescue • Festuca hystrix • Festuca idahoensis – Idaho fescue, blue bunchgrass • Festuca indigesta • Festuca jubata – Macaronesia fescue • Festuca juncifolia • Festuca kingii – spike fescue • Festuca komarovii • Festuca kurtziana • Festuca laxa • Festuca lemanii – confused fescue • Festuca lenensis – tundra fescue • Festuca ligulata – Guadalupe fescue • Festuca litvinovii • Festuca longifolia – blue fescue • Festuca longipes • Festuca lucida • Festuca magellanica • Festuca mairei – Atlas fescue • Festuca matthewsii – alpine fescue tussock • Festuca minutiflora – smallflower fescue • Festuca molokaiensis • Festuca rigescens • Festuca rivularis • Festuca rubra – red fescue • Festuca rubra subsp. commutata – Chewing's fescue • Festuca rupicaprina • Festuca rupicola – furrowed fescue • Festuca saximontana – Rocky Mountain fescue • Festuca scabra – munnik fescue • Festuca scabriuscula • Festuca scariosa • Festuca sclerophylla • Festuca sibirica • Festuca sinensis • Festuca sodiroana • Festuca sororia – ravine fescue • Festuca spectabilis • Festuca stricta • Festuca subulata – bearded fescue • Festuca subuliflora – crinkle-awn fescue • Festuca subulifolia • Festuca subverticillata – nodding fescue • Festuca tatrae • Festuca thurberi – Thurber's fescue • Festuca trachyphylla • Festuca vaginalis • Festuca vaginata • Festuca valesiaca – Volga fescue • Festuca varia • Festuca venusta • Festuca versuta – Texas fescue • Festuca violacea • Festuca viridula – green fescue • Festuca vivipara – viviparous fescue • Festuca viviparoidea – northern fescue • Festuca washingtonica – Washington fescue • Festuca weberbaueri • Festuca xanthina • Festuca yalaensis Formerly placed here Several former Festuca species are now placed in other genera, including species from subgenus Schedonorus. • Locajonoa coerulescens (as Festuca coerulescens ) • Lolium arundinaceum (as Festuca arundinacea and Festuca elatior ) – tall fescue • Lolium giganteum (as Festuca gigantea ) – giant fescue • Lolium mazzettianum (as Festuca mazzettiana ) • Lolium pratense (as Festuca pratensis ) – meadow fescue, English bluegrass ==References==