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 taurica

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Butt sheaths persistent and investing base of culm; with compacted dead sheaths. Basal innovations intravaginal. Culms 40–50 cm long. Culm-internodes antrorsely scabrous. Leaf-sheaths open for most of their length; with 0.2 of their length closed; with flat margins; glabrous on surface, or puberulous. Leaf-sheath auricles erect; obtuse. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 0.5 mm long. Leaf-blades filiform; conduplicate; elliptic in section; 20–35 cm long; 0.35–0.6 mm wide; without exudate. Leaf-blade venation comprising 5 vascular bundles; with 3 inner ridges; with 3 subepidermal sclerenchyma strands; with subepidermal sclerenchyma free from veins; without layer of subepidermal sclerenchyma masking vein striation, or with sclerenchyma strands widened to form a discontinuous subepidermal layer. Leaf-blade surface scabrous; pubescent; hairy on both sides.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle.

Panicle open; interrupted; 5–11 cm long. Panicle branches pubescent.

Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 5 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets oblong; laterally compressed; 8.4–10.7 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 linear; chartaceous; without keels; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume linear; 6.5–7.4 mm long; 0.9–1 length of adjacent fertile lemma; chartaceous; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Fertile lemma linear; 6.5–8.4 mm long; chartaceous; without keel; 5 -veined. Lemma surface smooth, or scaberulous; rough above. Lemma apex acute; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn 4–8 mm long overall. 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: southeastern and eastern.

NOTES Poeae. Fl Eur 1995.

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