GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora

Descriptions

W.D. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson

© Copyright The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Festuca glaucispicula

HABIT Perennial; caespitose; clumped loosely. Butt sheaths persistent and investing base of culm; with fibrous dead sheaths. Basal innovations extravaginal. Culms geniculately ascending; slender; 54 cm long; 2 -noded. Leaf-sheaths tubular for much of their length; with 1 of their length closed; with flat margins; without keel; hispid. Ligule a ciliolate membrane; 0.2 mm long. Leaf-blades filiform; conduplicate; angular in section; 0.4–0.7 mm wide. Leaf-blade venation comprising 5 vascular bundles; with 3 inner ridges; with 7 subepidermal sclerenchyma strands; with subepidermal sclerenchyma strands enlarged at midrib and enlarged at leaf margins; with subepidermal sclerenchyma free from veins; without layer of subepidermal sclerenchyma masking vein striation. Leaf-blade surface smooth; pilose; hairy adaxially. Leaf-blade apex obtuse, or abruptly acute.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle. Peduncle smooth.

Panicle open; oblong, or ovate; dense; 10 cm long. Panicle branches scabrous.

Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 6 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets elliptic, or oblong; laterally compressed; 9.5 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.

GLUMES Glumes persistent; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume lanceolate; 0.9 length of upper glume; chartaceous; without keels; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume linear, or lanceolate; 3.9 mm long; chartaceous; with undifferentiated margins; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume apex acuminate.

FLORETS Fertile lemma lanceolate; 5.5 mm long; 2 mm wide; chartaceous; glaucous; pruinose; without keel; 5 -veined. Lemma surface scabrous; rough above. Lemma apex acuminate; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn 0.7–1.2 mm long overall. Palea 1 length of lemma; 2 -veined. Palea surface pubescent. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

FLOWER Anthers 3. Ovary with a few apical hairs.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; glabrous. Hilum linear.

DISTRIBUTION Asia-temperate: western Asia.

NOTES Poeae. Fl Turk 1997.

Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.