Festuca roemeri

Illustrator: Cindy Roché

Copyright: Utah State University

Plants densely cespitose, without rhizomes. Culms (35)50-90 (100) cm, erect, glabrous, smooth. Sheaths closed for less than 1/2 their length, glabrous, hirsute, or scabrous, persistent; collars glabrous; ligules 0.1-0.5 mm; blades 0.5-1(1.2) mm in diameter, conduplicate, abaxial surfaces glabrous or puberulent, adaxial surfaces sometimes scabrous, glabrous or pubescent, veins (5)7-9, ribs 5-9, well defined; abaxial sclerenchyma in 5-7 wide strands, sometimes confluent into a single band; adaxial sclerenchyma absent. Inflorescences (7)8-20(25) cm, loosely to densely contracted, with 1-2 branches per node; branches erect to slightly spreading, lower branches with 2+ spikelets. Spikelets 9-13.5 mm, with 4-6 florets. Glumes exceeded by the upper florets, ovate-lanceolate, smooth or scabrous distally; lower glumes (2)2.5-5 mm; upper glumes 4-6.2 mm; lemmas 5-7(8.2) mm, scabrous near the apices, awns (2)3-5 mm, terminal, usually more than 1/2 as long as the lemma bodies; paleas about as long as the lemmas, intercostal region scabrous or puberulent distally; anthers (2.6)2.8-3.6(4) mm; ovary apices glabrous. 2n = unknown.

Discussion

Festuca roemeri grows in grasslands and open forests, primarily west of the Cascade Mountains, from southeastern Vancouver Island southward to northwestern California.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.