Festuca idahoensis
Encyclopedia
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.
This fescue
is a densely-clumping long-lived perennial bunch grass with stems from about 30 to 80 centimeters in height. The stiff, short, rolling leaves are mostly located near the base of the tuft. The inflorescence
has hairy spikelets which produce large awned fruits. The root system is thick and penetrates deeply into the soil. The roots have symbiotic mycorrhiza
e. There are no rhizome
s; the plant reproduces from seeds and from budding with tillers
.
This is a nutritious and preferred forage grass for wild and domestic animals. Typical native grass associates in the far west coastal prairie
s are Danthonia californica
, Deschampsia caespitosa and Nassella pulchra
.
Cultivars, such as "Siskiyou Blue," are produced in the horticulture
industry for landscape design
and garden
use.
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
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.
This fescue
Fescue
Festuce is a genus of about 300 species of perennial tufted grasses, belonging to the grass family Poaceae . The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, although the majority of the species are found in cool temperate areas...
is a densely-clumping long-lived perennial bunch grass with stems from about 30 to 80 centimeters in height. The stiff, short, rolling leaves are mostly located near the base of the tuft. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
has hairy spikelets which produce large awned fruits. The root system is thick and penetrates deeply into the soil. The roots have symbiotic mycorrhiza
Mycorrhiza
A mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular plant....
e. There are no rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
s; the plant reproduces from seeds and from budding with tillers
Tiller (botany)
A tiller is a stem produced by grass plants, and refers to all shoots that grow after the initial parent shoot grows from a seed. Tillers are segmented, each segment possessing its own two-part leaf...
.
This is a nutritious and preferred forage grass for wild and domestic animals. Typical native grass associates in the far west coastal prairie
Coastal prairie
Coastal prairie may refer to either:* The California coastal prairie, a plant community found along the coasts of California and Oregon* The Western Gulf coastal grasslands of Louisiana, Texas, and Tamaulipas...
s are Danthonia californica
Danthonia californica
Danthonia californica is a species of grass known by the common name California oatgrass. This plant is native to two separate regions of the Americas, western North America from California to Saskatchewan, and Chile.-Description:...
, Deschampsia caespitosa and Nassella pulchra
Nassella pulchra
Nassella pulchra is a species of grass known by the common name purple needlegrass. It is native to California, where it occurs throughout the coastal hills, valleys, and mountain ranges, as well as the Sacramento Valley and parts of the Sierra Nevada foothills, and Baja California.It grows in many...
.
Cultivars, such as "Siskiyou Blue," are produced in the horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
industry for landscape design
Landscape design
Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practised by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice landscape design bridges between landscape architecture and garden design.-Design scope:...
and garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
use.
See also
- California coastal prairieCalifornia coastal prairieCalifornia coastal prairie, also known as northern coastal grassland, is a grassland plant community of California and Oregon in the Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Biome...
- Native grasses of California