Festuca pratensis Huds.
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Authority
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
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Family
Poaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Tufted, but often with basally decumbent culms; old sheaths brown, decaying to fibers, culms erect above a geniculate base, 3–12 dm, glabrous; sheaths smooth; blades lax, not evidently ridge-veined, glabrous or scabrous, 3–5(–7) mm wide, dilated at base into conspicuous smooth auricles; infl 1–2.5 dm, erect or nodding at the tip, contracted at least after anthesis, the internodes of the branches less than twice as long as the spikelets; spikelets 10–15 mm, 4–10-fld; first glume subulate, 2.5–4 mm, 1-veined, the second lanceolate, 3.5–5 mm, 3–5-veined, with hyaline margins; larger lemmas 5.5–7 mm, usually glabrous, 5-veined, the tip hyaline, acute, rarely with a short awn to 2 mm; rachilla-joints glossy, smooth or very nearly so; anthers 2–4 mm; 2n mostly = 14. Native of Europe, cult. for forage and established in fields, meadows, and moist soil throughout most of the U.S. and adj. Can. (Schedonorus p.)
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Common Names
meadow-fescue