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Montana Field Guides

Red Fescue - Festuca rubra

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Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: SU
C-value: 4


Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:


 

External Links

 
General Description
Perennial bunchgrass or not with well-developed, slender rhizomes. Stems 20–80 cm. Leaves: blades 1–1.5 mm wide, inrolled; lower sheaths reddish or brown, becoming fibrous in age. Inflorescence a loosely contracted panicle 7–15 cm long. Spikelets 6–8 mm long, with 4 to 7 florets. Lemmas with an awn 1–3 mm long (Lavin in Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Range Comments
Grasslands, meadows; valleys, montane (Lavin in Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 28

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density

Recency

 

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)



Habitat
Throughout nearly all of N. America, both native and introduced from Eurasia (Lavin in Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

References
  • Literature Cited AboveLegend:   View Online Publication
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View Online Publication
    Do you know of a citation we're missing?
    • Brey, C.W. 1998. Epidemiology of wheat curl mite (Aceria tosichella K.) and wheat streak mosaic virus on feral grass species and effect of glyphosate on wheat curl mite dispersal. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 136 p.
    • Clark, D. 1991. The effect of fire on Yellowstone ecosystem seed banks. M.Sc. Thesis. Montana State University, Bozeman. 115 pp.
    • Culver, D.R. 1994. Floristic analysis of the Centennial Region, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Montana State University, Bozeman. 199 pp.
    • Fogelsong, M.L. 1974. Effects of fluorides on Peromyscus maniculatus in Glacier National Park. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 52 p.
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
    • Murphy, C.Y. 2016. Chemical control and disease reservoir studies of the wheat curl mite (Aceria tosichella Keifer) vector to wheat streak mosaic virus. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 75 p.
    • Parks, J.C. 1986. Plant materials for use on disturbed alpine areas in Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 57 p.
  • Web Search Engines for Articles on "Red Fescue"
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Citation for data on this website:
Red Fescue — Festuca rubra.  Montana Field Guide.  .  Retrieved on , from