Ornamental grasses are grasses grown as ornamental plants. Ornamental grasses are popular in many colder hardiness zones for their resilience to cold temperatures and aesthetic value throughout fall and winter seasons.
Festuca (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae. They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of 10–200 cm (4–79 in) and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. The genus is closely related to ryegrass (Lolium), and recent evidence from phylogenetic studies using DNA sequencing of plant mitochondrial DNA shows that the genus lacks monophyly. As a result, plant taxonomists have moved several species, including the forage grasses tall fescue and meadow fescue, from the genus Festuca into the genus Lolium, or alternatively into the segregate genus Schedonorus.
Festuca ovina, sheep's fescue or sheep fescue, is a species of grass. It is sometimes confused with hard fescue.
Lolium pratense, meadow fescue is a perennial species of grass, which is often used as an ornamental in gardens, and is also an important forage crop. It grows in meadows, roadsides, old pastures, and riversides on moist, rich soils, especially on loamy and heavy soils.
Festuca altaica, also known as the altai fescue, or the northern rough fescue, is a perennial bunchgrass with a wide native distribution in the Arctic, from central Asia to eastern North America. It was first described in 1829 by Carl Bernhard von Trinius. It is under the synonym F. scabrella, the rough fescue.
Festuca rubra is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue, creeping red fescue or the rush-leaf fescue. It is widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is best adapted to well-drained soils in cool, temperate climates; it prefers shadier areas and is often planted for its shade tolerance. Wild animals browse it, but it has not been important for domestic forage due to low productivity and palatability. It is also an ornamental plant for gardens.
Lolium arundinaceum, tall fescue is a cool-season perennial C3 species of grass that is native to Europe. It occurs on woodland margins, in grassland and in coastal marshes. It is also an important forage grass with many cultivars that used in agriculture and is used as an ornamental grass in gardens, and sometimes as a phytoremediation plant.
Festuca californica is a species of grass known by the common name California fescue.
Festuca idahoensis is a species of grass known by the common names Idaho fescue and blue bunchgrass. It is native to western North America, where it is widespread and common. It can be found in many ecosystems, from shady forests to open plains grasslands.
Festuca viridula is a species of grass known by several common names, including green fescue, greenleaf fescue, and mountain bunchgrass. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Colorado, where it is most abundant in high-elevation forests and meadows.
Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennial plants, most species live more than one season. Tussock grasses are often found as forage in pastures and ornamental grasses in gardens.
Elachista triatomea is a moth of the family Elachistidae found in Europe.
Elachista freyerella is a moth of the family Elachistidae that is found in all of Europe, except the Balkan Peninsula. It is also found in North America.
Festuca thurberi is a species of grass known by the common name Thurber's fescue. It is native to a section of the western United States encompassing New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. It probably also occurs in parts of Arizona.
Festuca filiformis, known by the common names fine-leaf sheep fescue, fine-leaved sheep's-fescue, hair fescue, and slender fescue, is a species of grass. It is native to Europe, and it is widespread elsewhere as an introduced species and often a weed.
Festuca gautieri, commonly known as spiky fescue or bearskin fescue, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family, Poaceae, native to the Pyrenees. It is a commonly cultivated evergreen or semi-evergreen herbaceous perennial, and, as a native to European alpine areas, it is a small, low-growing Festuca suitable for rock gardens. It is first described in 1890.
Festuca octoflora, also known as Vulpia octoflora, is an annual plant in the grass family (Poaceae). The common name six-week fescue is because it supplies about 6 weeks of cattle forage after a rain. Other common names include sixweeks fescue, six-weeks fescue, pullout grass, eight-flower six-weeks grass, or eight-flowered fescue.
Festuca brachyphylla, commonly known as alpine fescue or short-leaved fescue, is a grass native to Eurasia, North America, and the Arctic. The grass is used for erosion control and revegetation. The specific epithet brachyphylla means "short-leaved". The grass has a diploid number of 28, 42, or 44. This species was first described in 1827.
Festuca cinerea, the blue fescue, is a species of perennial grass in the family Poaceae. They have a self-supporting growth form and simple, broad leaves. Individuals can grow to 29 cm tall.
Festuca ampla is a species of grass described and named by the botanist Eduard Hackel in 1880. F. ampla often thrives in habitats that include humid environments, arid soil, and sandy areas. This species grows in temperate biomes and is a perennial. This species is native to Portugal, Spain, and Morocco.
