Common Name: southwest fescue

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Graminoid

General: Densely cespitose perennial grass, without rhizomes, with basal tufts of short, thin, delicate blades and erect, thin, few-leaved stems emerging from the basal tufts. These stems are much taller than the basal leaves, 15-60 cm, glabrous, and terminate in narrow, contracted panicles.

Vegetative: Sheaths closed for less than 1/2 their length, mostly glabrous but sometomes retrorsely hirsute below; collars glabrous; ligules 0.5 mm; blades thin, delicate, 0.5 mm wide, folded, sparsely scabrous to pubescent.

Inflorescence: Panicles 5-15 cm, strongly contracted until anthesis, at which time they open considerably; panicle branches erect, 1-2 per node; lower branches with 2+ spikelets; spikelets 7-9 mm, with 4-6 mostly bisexual florets, the distal florets may be reduced; glumes exceeded by the upper florets, lanceolate, scabrous distally; lower glumes 2.5-4 mm; upper glumes 3-5 mm; lemmas 4-6 mm, with awns 1-2.5 mm.

Ecology: Found in grasslands and open montane forests, from 8,000-11,500 ft (2438-3505 m); flowers July-August.

Distribution: AZ and NM, north through UT and CO to south central WY.

Notes: Festuca calligera is a poorly known, often overlooked species, which some treatments include in F. ovina. This high-elevation meadow grass is often found growing with F. arizonica. F. calligera is easily distinguished from both of these other Festuca spp. because it has much shorter leaves in its basal tuft, usually only about 10 cm long.

Ethnobotany: Unknown, though other species in the genus have uses.

Etymology: Festuca is Latin for grass stalk or straw; calligera translates to "bearing a callus."

Synonyms: Festuca ovina ssp. calligera, Festuca amethystina var. asperrima

Editor: AHazelton 2015