Common Name: ravine fescue

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Graminoid

General: Loosely tufted perennial, without rhizomes, stems 60-100 cm, erect, glabrous, from hard woody base; sheaths closed for less than one third their length, glabrous or scabrous, shredding into fibers.

Vegetative: Blades to 40 cm or longer, 3-6 mm wide, flat, thin, upper and lower surfaces glabrous, with 13-25 veins, obscure ribs; ligules 0.5-1.5 mm.

Inflorescence: Panicle 10-20 cm, open to contracted with 1-2 branches per node, loosely flowered, often drooping with slender, curving branches with spikelets borne towards the end of the branches; spikelets 7-12 mm with 3-5 florets, glabrous to scabrous, glumes lanceolate, scabrous on midvein, unequal; lemmas 6-8 mm, lanceolate, awnless or with awn 2 mm or less.

Ecology: Found in shaded canyons and along stream banks in moist woods from 7,000-10,500 ft (2134-3200 m); flowers August-October.

Notes: This is the only Festuca in the region with broad, flat blades.

Ethnobotany: Unknown

Etymology: Festuca is Latin for grass stalk or straw, while sororia means sisterly or closely related.

Synonyms: None

Editor: SBuckley, 2010