Festuca edlundiae

Festuca edlundiae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Poales
Family:	Poaceae
Subfamily:	Pooideae
Genus:	Festuca
Species:	F. edlundiae
Binomial name
Festuca edlundiae S.G.Aiken, Consaul & Lefk.

Festuca edlundiae, commonly known as Edlund's fescue, is a native, perennial, tufted grass of the High Arctic. It occurs in Alaska, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, northern Greenland, far eastern Arctic Russia, and Svalbard. ^[1] The specific epithet honours Canadian botanist Sylvia Edlund. The species was first formally described in 1995 by Susan Aiken, Laurie Consaul, and Leonard Lefkovitch. ^[2]

Description

Festuca edlundiae is closely related to Festuca brachyphylla and resembles boreal fescue ( Festuca hyperborea ). It differs in having longer flag-leaf blades (5 mm or more) and larger spikelets. Plants form dense clumps and lack rhizomes. ^[3]

Habitat

F. edlundiae grows in High Arctic environments, typically on fine-grained or calcareous soils. It is well adapted to cold, short-season conditions and occurs in tundra habitats where few grasses can survive.

References

1. Barkworth, Mary E.; Anderton, Laurel K.; Capels, Kathleen M.; Long, Sandy; Piep, Michael B. (2007). Manual of Grasses for North America. University Press of Colorado. p. 387. ISBN   9781457180989.
2. "Festuca edlundiae S. Aiken, Consaul and Lefkovitch". Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Canadian Museum of Nature. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
3. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (1993). Flora of North America North of Mexico. Vol. 24: Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Poaceae, part 1. Oxford University Press. p. 432. ISBN   0195310713.

External links

• "Festuca edlundiae S. Aiken, Consaul & Lefkovitch". The Flora of Svalbard. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
• Aiken, Susan G.; Consaul, Laurie L.; Lefkovitch, Leonard P. (1995). "Festuca edlundiae (Poaceae), a High Arctic new species compared enzymatically and morphologically with similar Festuca species". Systematic Botany . 20 (3): 374–392. doi:10.2307/2419501. JSTOR   2419501.