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Descriptions

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

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

Festuca pallens

HABIT Perennial; caespitose; clumped densely. Butt sheaths persistent and investing base of culm; with compacted dead sheaths. Basal innovations intravaginal. Culms 30–40 cm long. Culm-internodes smooth, or scaberulous. Leaf-sheaths open for most of their length; with 0 of their length closed; with flat margins; glabrous on surface. Leaf-sheath auricles erect; obtuse. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 0.5 mm long. Leaf-blades filiform; conduplicate; circular in section; 0.6–1.1 mm wide; stiff; glaucous; pruinose. Leaf-blade venation comprising 7–11 vascular bundles; with 1–9 inner ridges; with subepidermal sclerenchyma free from veins; with continuous uniform subepidermal sclerenchyma layer on the underside. Leaf-blade surface smooth, or scaberulous. Leaf-blade apex obtuse.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle.

Panicle open; interrupted; loose; 4–9.5 cm long. Panicle branches smooth, or scaberulous; glabrous, or puberulous.

Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 4–7 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets oblong; laterally compressed; 6.5–8.4 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Rhachilla internodes obscured by lemmas.

GLUMES Glumes persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume lanceolate; chartaceous; without keels; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate; 3.3–5.2 mm long; 0.75–0.9 length of adjacent fertile lemma; chartaceous; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Fertile lemma oblong; 4.3–5.4 mm long; chartaceous; glaucous; without keel; 5 -veined. Lemma apex acute; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn 2–4 mm long overall; 0.5–0.75 length of lemma. Palea 2 -veined. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

FLOWER Lodicules 2. Anthers 3. Ovary glabrous.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; ellipsoid. Hilum linear. Disseminule comprising a caryopsis and palea.

DISTRIBUTION Europe: central, southwestern, southeastern, and eastern.

NOTES Poeae. Fl Eur 1995.

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