Fescue Allies
What are they?
The fescues are a large group of grasses and one of the more difficult groups to identify to species. Taxonomists have disagreed for a long time on how to define some of the species and there is often hybridisation between this group and closely-related groups such as the rye-grasses. Indeed, some of the larger fescues spent time in the genus Schedonorus and more recently were moved into Lolium. this page covers a handful of species that have traditionally been placed in the genus Vulpia in the past, while other pages cover smaller fescues and larger fescues. If you are trying to identify a fescue, it's probably worth giving those pages a look, too.
Where are they found?
These are wide-ranging species, typically found in open or disturbed habitats such as sand dunes, rough tracks, roadsides, urban environments and disturbed ground such as arable land and gardens.
Identification
Click here for help with some of the terminology used on the grass pages. The specis covered here tend to differ from other fescue groups in having flowers with long and very noticeable awns. Careful attention to the flower parts is required for identification, particularly measurements and relative sizes of the glumes and lemmas.
Rat's-tail Fescue Festuca myuros
A native annual, widespread in many kinds of open and disturbed habitats, especially on dry or sandy soils and as a weed on walls and pavements. Flowers May to July. Plants 10-70cm in height, larger plants tussocky with many stems but single- or few-stemmed in drier sites. Leaf blades 0.5-3mm wide, flat or inrolled, downy above, smooth beneath. Leaf sheaths rounded and smooth. Ligule membranous, short to medium. Flower spike narrow and gracefully upright. Spikelets 7-10mm long, with 3-7 florets, loosely spaced in the spike. Lemmas 5-7mm long with a long and slender awn to 15mm in length.
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Squirreltail Fescue Festuca bromoides
A native annual, widespread on dry, usually sandy, soils and as a weed in urban areas. Flowers May to July. Plants 5-60cm in height, stems clustered, or single in drier sites. Leaf blades 0.5-3mm wide, flat or inrolled, downy above, rough on the margins. Leaf sheaths rounded and smooth. Ligule membranous, up to 0.5mm in length. Flower spike with upright or slightly spreading branches, with many spikelets, or reduced to two or even just a single spikelet in dry ground. Spikelets 7-14mm long, with 5-10 florets. Lower glume 2.5-5mm long, half to three-quarters the length of the upper glume. Lemmas 5-7mm long with a long and slender awn to 13mm in length. As it's scientific name suggests, this little grass looks rather like a cross between a fescue and a brome.
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