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Western Fescue - Festuca occidentalis
Native Species
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
S4
C-value:
5
Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:
External Links
General Description
Perennial bunchgrass. Stems 40–100 cm. Leaves: blades 1 mm wide, smooth to slightly scabrous. Inflorescence an open, often drooping panicle 5–12 cm long. Spikelets 6–9 mm long, with 3 to 5 florets. Lemmas with a slender, flexuous awn 4–12 mm long (Lavin in
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Very western North America and extending east into MT, WY, SD, to MI and ON (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: 448
(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
Moist soils of forest understory, along streams, lakes; valleys to subalpine (Lavin in
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).
Stewardship Responsibility
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?
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.- Skilbred, Chester L. 1979. Plant succession on five naturally revegetated strip-mined deposits at Colstrip, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 128 pp.
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