Festuca ustulata

HABIT Perennial; caespitose; clumped densely. Butt sheaths persistent and investing base of culm; with soft dead sheaths. Basal innovations intravaginal. Culms slender; 12–20 cm long. Leaf-sheaths tubular for much of their length; with 0.5 of their length closed. Leaf-sheath auricles erect; obtuse. Ligule a ciliolate membrane; 0.3–0.6 mm long. Leaf-blades curved; filiform; conduplicate; 0.35–0.65 mm wide; glaucous; without exudate. Leaf-blade venation comprising 5 vascular bundles; with 1–3 inner ridges; with subepidermal sclerenchyma free from veins; with continuous uniform subepidermal sclerenchyma layer on the underside. Leaf-blade surface smooth; glabrous. Leaf-blade apex acuminate; pungent.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle. Peduncle smooth.

Panicle open; lanceolate; 1–2.5 cm long; bearing few spikelets. Primary panicle branches bearing 1 fertile spikelets on each lower branch. Panicle branches hispid.

Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels pubescent; tip rectangular, or widened.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 3 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets elliptic, or oblong; laterally compressed; 8.4 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.

GLUMES Glumes persistent; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume lanceolate; chartaceous; without keels; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate, or ovate; 4–4.6 mm long; 0.66 length of adjacent fertile lemma; chartaceous; with scarious margins; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume margins ciliolate. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Fertile lemma lanceolate; 4.8–5.3 mm long; 2.1 mm wide; chartaceous; mid-green and purple; suffused with last colour; without keel; 5 -veined. Lemma surface puberulous. Lemma apex acuminate; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn 2.5–3 mm long overall. Palea 1 length of lemma; 2 -veined. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

FLOWER Anthers 3; 2.5–2.7 mm long. Ovary glabrous.

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.