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.
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.
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 occidentalis is a species of grass known as western fescue. It is native to much of the northern half of North America and is most widely distributed in the west. It is most often found in forest and woodland habitat. The specific epithet occidentalis is Latin, meaning "western".
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.
Festuca amethystina, also known as the tufted fescue, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is native to Europe, including Turkey. It is perennial and grows in temperate biomes. It was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus.
Festuca vivipara, the viviparous sheep's-fescue, is a species of grass native to northern Europe, northern Asia, and subarctic North America. The specific epithet vivipara is Latin, referring to the florets' alteration to leafy tufts. The plant can have a diploid number of 28, 49, 56, or 63, though numbers of 21, 35, and 42 have also been reported.
Festuca contracta, commonly known as tufted fescue or land tussac, is a species of true grass (Poaceae). It is native to many subantarctic islands in, and the coasts bordering, the Southern Ocean. The specific epithet comes from the Latin contractus, with reference to the inflorescence.
Lolium giganteum, giant fescue, is a woodland grass that grows on neutral to base-rich soils, often near streams or other damp places. It is native to Europe and much of Asia and has been introduced to parts of North America.
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 hallii, the Piper plains rough fescue, is a species of grass which can be found in Central Canada and in such US states as New Mexico, North Dakota, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming.
Luzula wahlenbergii, commonly known as Wahlenberg's woodrush or reindeer wood-rush, is a perennial species of plant in the genus Luzula of the (rush) family Juncaceae.
Festuca frederikseniae is a species of grass native to Greenland, Newfoundland, Labrador, and to a few islands in eastern Québec. In Iceland and southern Greenland, a few populations have been found that may be hybrids between F. rubra and either F. frederikseniae or F. vivipara. The purported hybrids have been named F. x villosa-vivipara. All these species grow on cliffs and on rocky or sandy soils in alpine tundra. It was first described in 1985.
Sylvia Anita Edlund was a Canadian botanist. Festuca edlundiae, commonly known as Edlund's fescue, a high arctic grass, was named in her honour for her extensive contributions to Arctic field work.
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 saximontana, the rocky mountain fescue or the mountain fescue, is a perennial grass native to North America. The specific epithet saximontana is Latin and means "of the Rocky Mountains". The grass has a diploid number of 42.
Ranunculus arcticus, the birdfoot buttercup, is a species of buttercup in the family Ranunculaceae. It has a circumpolar distribution in Northern Europe, Northern Asia and North America.
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 alpina, also known as the alphine fescue, is a species of grass in the genus Festuca. It grows in rocky habitats in many of the mountains chains across Europe. in the countries of Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Yugoslavia.
