470 



GRAMINEiE. 



Festuca. 



38. FESTUCA. Linn.; Kunth, enum. 1. p. 391. FESCUE-GRASS. 

 [ Said to be derived from the Celtic word fcst, signifying food, or pasturage.] 



Spikelets 3 - many-flowered ; the flowers distichous, free. Glumes unequal, mostly keeled. 

 Paleas herbaceous ; the lower one somewhat rounded on the back, acute, mucronate, or often 

 terminating in an awn. Stigmas simply plumose. Caryopsis compressed, concave on the 

 upper side, adhering to the upper palea. — Panicle usually compound, often racemose. 



1. Festuca duriuscula, Lijin. Hard Fescue-grass. 



Panicle a little contracted, somewhat secund ; spikelets oblong, 5 - 6-flowered, nearly terete, 

 with short awns ; culm-leaves flat, radical ones setaceous. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 74 ; Engl. hot. 

 t. 470; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 82 ; Muhl. gram. p. 163 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 171 ; Torr. fl. 1. p. 120 ; 

 Beck, hot. p. 405 ; Kunth, enum. 1. p. 399. 



Perennial. Culm 12-18 inches high, slender, erect. Leaves smooth ; those of the culm 

 sometimes involute : sheaths soomth : ligule very short. Panicle 2-3 inches long, more or 

 less contracted and turned to one side ; the branches usually in pairs. Glumes linear-lanceo- 

 late, acute ; the upper one broader. Palese lanceolate, nearly equal, smooth ; the upper one 

 terminating in a short straight bristle. 



Dry fields : frequent on Long Island. Fl. June. Probably introduced from Europe. It 

 sometimes constitutes almost the only grass in extensive sandy fields, but is of little value 

 except for the pasturage of sheep. 



2. Festuca tenella, Willd. (Plate CLIV.) Slender Fescue-grass. 



Panicle spike-form, simple, somewhat secund ; spikelets 7- 9-flowered ; awns shorter than 

 the subulate flowers; culm filiform ; leaves setaceous. — Willd. enum. 1. p. 113; Pursh, 

 fl. 1. p. 83 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 168 ; Muhl. gram. p. 159 ; Torr. fl. I. p. 120; Bigel. fl. Bost. 

 p. 36 ; Beck, hot. p. 405 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 70 ; Kunth, enum. 1. p. 397. F. bromoides, 

 Michx. fl. I. p. 66. F. octoflora, Walt. fl. Car. p. 81. Schenodorus tenellus, Rozm. 

 Schult. syst. 2. p. 727. 



Annual. Culms often clustered, 6-12 inches high, erect, geniculate at base, very slender, 

 angular above. Leaves 1-3 inches long, erect : sheaths a little pubescent : ligule short, 

 toothed. Panicle 2-3 inches long; the lower branches in pairs, sometimes a little expanding. 

 Spikelets mostly 7-flowered, brownish when old. Glumes unequal, subulate, very acute. 

 Lower palea involute, rough, not keeled ; the summit extended into a short bristle, which is 

 about half or two-thirds the length of the palea? : upper palea shorter, linear, acuminate. 

 Caryopsis linear, with a groove on the upper side. 



Dry sterile soils : frequent. Fl. June - July. 



