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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 pseudovivipara
HABIT Perennial; caespitose; clumped loosely. Rhizomes elongated. Butt sheaths persistent and investing base of culm; with fibrous dead sheaths. Culms erect; 30–60 cm long. Leaf-sheaths tubular for much of their length; with 0.75 of their length closed; smooth, or scaberulous. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 0.5–1 mm long. Collar glabrous. Leaf-blades flat, or conduplicate; 1.5–2.5 mm wide; dark green. Leaf-blade venation with sclerenchyma strands below veins; 5–9 subepidermal sclerenchyma strands; subepidermal sclerenchyma free from veins. Leaf-blade surface scabrous; rough abaxially; pilose; hairy adaxially.
INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle.
Panicle open; oblong; loose; nodding; (4–)7–12(–15) cm long. Primary panicle branches ascending; 1–2 -nate; bearing 2–5 fertile spikelets on each lower branch.
Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled.
FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 3–6 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets oblong; laterally compressed; 10–13 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret, or above glumes but not between florets.
GLUMES Glumes persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume lanceolate; (2.5–)3.5–6 mm long; 0.75 length of upper glume; membranous; without keels; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume surface scabrous; rough above. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate, or elliptic; 4.5–6.5(–8) mm long; 0.9–1.1 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume surface scabrous; rough above. Upper glume apex acute.
FLORETS Fertile lemma lanceolate; 5–6 mm long; chartaceous; without keel; 5 -veined. Lemma surface smooth, or scabrous; rough above; glabrous, or pubescent. Lemma apex acute; muticous, or mucronate. Palea 2 -veined. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
FLOWER Anthers 3; 2.5–4 mm long.
FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp. Hilum linear.
CLEISTOGENES AND VIVIPARY Vegetative proliferation occurs.
DISTRIBUTION North America: western Canada.
NOTES Poeae. Fl N Amer 2007.
Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.
