Festuca ovina

Last updated

Sheep's fescue
Illustration Festuca ovina0.jpg
Festuca ovina on left
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Pooideae
Genus: Festuca
Species:
F. ovina
Binomial name
Festuca ovina
L.
Synonyms
List
  • Bromus ovinus(L.) Scop.
  • Gnomonia ovina(L.) Lunell
  • Avena ovinaSalisb.
  • Festuca agrestisWulfen ex Steud.
  • Festuca baumgartenianaSchur
  • Festuca capillarisWulfen
  • Festuca centroapenninica(Markgr.-Dann.) Foggi, F.Conti & Pignatti
  • Festuca chiisanensis(Ohwi) E.B.Alexeev
  • Festuca cinerea var. scabrifolia(Hack.) M.Toman
  • Festuca diffusaV.N.Vassil.
  • Festuca eskiaLej.
  • Festuca filifoliaLink
  • Festuca fontqueriana(St.-Yves) Romo
  • Festuca glauca var. scabrifoliaHack.
  • Festuca glaucanthaBlocki
  • Festuca glaucoidea(J.Vetter) E.B.Alexeev
  • Festuca guestphalicaBoenn. ex Rchb.
  • Festuca guinochetii(Bidault) S.Arndt
  • Festuca hallerioidesSchur
  • Festuca heterophyllaWahlenb.
  • Festuca jumpeiana(Ohwi) Kitag.
  • Festuca lasianthaSchur
  • Festuca leucanthaSchur
  • Festuca lividaSchur
  • Festuca malzevii(Litv.) Reverd.
  • Festuca mariettanaE.B.Alexeev
  • Festuca maskerensis(Litard.) Romo
  • Festuca multifloraSuter
  • Festuca nigraGilib.
  • Festuca oligosanthaSchur
  • Festuca pallens subsp. scabrifolia(Hack.) Zielonk.
  • Festuca paucifloraSchleich.
  • Festuca pietrosiiZapal.
  • Festuca pratensisHonck.
  • Festuca pumilaWillk.
  • Festuca purpusiana(St.-Yves) Tzvelev
  • Festuca rupicola var. sulcatiformis(Markgr.-Dann.) Markgr.-Dann. ex Stohr
  • Festuca ruprechtii(Boiss.) V.I.Krecz. & Bobrov
  • Festuca sauvageiRomo
  • Festuca saximontana subsp. purpusiana(St.-Yves) Tzvelev
  • Festuca scabrifolia(Hack.) Patzke & G.H.Loos
  • Festuca sciaphilaSchur
  • Festuca serpentinica(Krajina) M.Toman
  • Festuca sphagnicolaB.Keller
  • Festuca sulcatiformis(Markgr.-Dann.) Patzke & G.H.Loos
  • Festuca trachyphylla var. pubescens(Hack.) Tzvelev
  • Festuca verguiniiSennen
  • Festuca vorobieviiProb.
  • Festuca vulgaris(Wallr.) Hayek
  • Festuca vylzaniae(Vylzan ex E.B.Alexeev) Tzvelev
  • Festuca weilleri(Litard.) Romo
  • Festuca yarochenkoi(St.-Yves) E.B.Alexeev
  • Poa setaceaKoeler

Festuca ovina, sheep's fescue or sheep fescue, is a species of grass. It is sometimes confused with hard fescue (Festuca trachyphylla).

Contents

General description

It is a perennial plant sometimes found in acidic ground, and in mountain pasture, throughout Europe (with the exception of some Mediterranean areas) and eastwards across much of Asia; it has also been introduced to North America. [1]

It is one of the defining species of the British NVC community CG2, i.e. Festuca ovina Avenula pratensis grassland, one of the alkaline grassland communities. However, the species has a wide ecological tolerance in the UK, occurring on both basic and acid soils, as well as old mining sites and spoil heaps that are contaminated with heavy metals. [2] [3] [4]

Sheep's fescue is a densely tufted perennial grass. Its greyish-green leaves are short and bristle-like. The panicles are both slightly feathery and a bit one-sided. It flowers from May until June, and is wind-pollinated. It has no rhizomes.

Sheep's fescue is a drought-resistant grass, commonly found on poor, well-drained mineral soil. It is sometimes used as a drought-tolerant lawn grass. [5]

The great ability to adapt to poor soils is due to mycorrhizal fungi, [6] which increase the absorption of water and nutrients and also are potential determinants of plant community structure. The symbiosis with fungi increases mineral, nitrogen and phosphate absorption, thanks to fungal hyphae that expand deeply in the soil and cover plant roots, increasing the exchange surface. The symbiosis also makes every plant interconnected with the surrounding plants, making possible the exchange of nutrients between plants far from each other.

More colourful garden varieties with blue-grey foliage are available.

Wildlife value

This is one of the food plants for the caterpillars of several butterflies and moths, including the gatekeeper and the meadow brown, the small heath, and the grass moth Agriphila inquinatella .

Photos

Illustrations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mycorrhiza</span> Fungus-plant symbiotic association

A mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play important roles in plant nutrition, soil biology, and soil chemistry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sod</span> Upper layer of soil and grass

Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arbuscular mycorrhiza</span> Symbiotic penetrative association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular plant

An arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is a type of mycorrhiza in which the symbiont fungus penetrates the cortical cells of the roots of a vascular plant forming arbuscules. Arbuscular mycorrhiza is a type of endomycorrhiza along with ericoid mycorrhiza and orchid mycorrhiza. They are characterized by the formation of unique tree-like structures, the arbuscules. In addition, globular storage structures called vesicles are often encountered.

<i>Festuca</i> Genus in the grass family Poaceae

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glomeromycota</span> Phylum of fungi

Glomeromycota are one of eight currently recognized divisions within the kingdom Fungi, with approximately 230 described species. Members of the Glomeromycota form arbuscular mycorrhizas (AMs) with the thalli of bryophytes and the roots of vascular land plants. Not all species have been shown to form AMs, and one, Geosiphon pyriformis, is known not to do so. Instead, it forms an endocytobiotic association with Nostoc cyanobacteria. The majority of evidence shows that the Glomeromycota are dependent on land plants for carbon and energy, but there is recent circumstantial evidence that some species may be able to lead an independent existence. The arbuscular mycorrhizal species are terrestrial and widely distributed in soils worldwide where they form symbioses with the roots of the majority of plant species (>80%). They can also be found in wetlands, including salt-marshes, and associated with epiphytic plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ericoid mycorrhiza</span> Species of fungus

The ericoid mycorrhiza is a mutualistic relationship formed between members of the plant family Ericaceae and several lineages of mycorrhizal fungi. This symbiosis represents an important adaptation to acidic and nutrient poor soils that species in the Ericaceae typically inhabit, including boreal forests, bogs, and heathlands. Molecular clock estimates suggest that the symbiosis originated approximately 140 million years ago.

NVC community CG2 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of three short-sward communities associated with heavy grazing, within the lowland calcicolous grassland group, and is regarded as "typical" chalk grassland.

<i>Festuca rubra</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Briza media</i> Species of grass

Briza media is a perennial grass in the family Poaceae and is a species of the genus Briza.

<i>Lolium arundinaceum</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Festuca californica</i> Species of grass

Festuca californica is a species of grass known by the common name California fescue.

<i>Festuca idahoensis</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

NVC community CG3 is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of four communities of rank, tussocky grassland associated with low levels of grazing, within the lowland calcicolous grassland group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tussock grass</span> Species of grass

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.

British NVC community OV37 is one of the open habitat communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of six communities of crevice, scree and spoil vegetation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant use of endophytic fungi in defense</span>

Plant use of endophytic fungi in defense occurs when endophytic fungi, which live symbiotically with the majority of plants by entering their cells, are utilized as an indirect defense against herbivores. In exchange for carbohydrate energy resources, the fungus provides benefits to the plant which can include increased water or nutrient uptake and protection from phytophagous insects, birds or mammals. Once associated, the fungi alter nutrient content of the plant and enhance or begin production of secondary metabolites. The change in chemical composition acts to deter herbivory by insects, grazing by ungulates and/or oviposition by adult insects. Endophyte-mediated defense can also be effective against pathogens and non-herbivory damage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mycorrhizal network</span> Underground fungal networks that connect individual plants together

A mycorrhizal network is an underground network found in forests and other plant communities, created by the hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi joining with plant roots. This network connects individual plants together. Mycorrhizal relationships are most commonly mutualistic, with both partners benefiting, but can be commensal or parasitic, and a single partnership may change between any of the three types of symbiosis at different times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ectomycorrhiza</span> Non-penetrative symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular plant

An ectomycorrhiza is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobiont, and the roots of various plant species. The mycobiont is often from the phyla Basidiomycota and Ascomycota, and more rarely from the Zygomycota. Ectomycorrhizas form on the roots of around 2% of plant species, usually woody plants, including species from the birch, dipterocarp, myrtle, beech, willow, pine and rose families. Research on ectomycorrhizas is increasingly important in areas such as ecosystem management and restoration, forestry and agriculture.

Dark septate endophytes (DSE) are a group of endophytic fungi characterized by their morphology of melanized, septate, hyphae. This group is likely paraphyletic, and contain conidial as well as sterile fungi that colonize roots intracellularly or intercellularly. Very little is known about the number of fungal taxa within this group, but all are in the Ascomycota. They are found in over 600 plant species and across 114 families of angiosperms and gymnosperms and co-occur with other types of mycorrhizal fungi. They have a wide global distribution and can be more abundant in stressed environments. Much of their taxonomy, physiology, and ecology are unknown.

Orchid mycorrhizae are endomycorrhizal fungi which develop symbiotic relationships with the roots and seeds of plants of the family Orchidaceae. Nearly all orchids are myco-heterotrophic at some point in their life cycle. Orchid mycorrhizae are critically important during orchid germination, as an orchid seed has virtually no energy reserve and obtains its carbon from the fungal symbiont.

References

  1. "Distribution map for Festuca ovina". Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Stockholm.
  2. Wilkinson, M. J. (1991). "A new taxonomic treatment of the Festuca ovina L. aggregate (Poaceae)in the British Isles". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 106 (4): 347–397. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1991.tb02298.x.
  3. Bradshaw, A. D. (1959). "Population differentiation within plant species in response to soil factors". Nature. 83 (4654): 129–130. Bibcode:1959Natur.183R.129B. doi:10.1038/183129b0. S2CID   4275021.
  4. Wilkins, D. A. (1960). "The measurement and genetical analysis of lead tolerance in Festuca ovina". Report of the Scottish Plant Breeding Station: 85–98.
  5. Fuller, Sherry. "Choosing the right drought-tolerant lawn can save water". SWColoradohome.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2006.
  6. Marcel G. A. van der Heijden; Thomas Boller; Andres Wiemken & Ian R. Sanders (1998). "Different Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Species are Potential Determinants of Plant Community Structure". Ecology. 79 (6): 2082–2091. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(1998)079[2082:DAMFSA]2.0.CO;2. ISSN   0012-9658. S2CID   43420426.