young shoot icon Home All plants About

Festuca ovina L.

Sheep's fescue (en), Fétuque ovin (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Poales > Poaceae > Festuca

Characteristics

Plant densely tufted; shoots intravaginal. Culms 10–60 cm tall; node 1. Leaf sheaths glabrous or basal leaf sheaths occasionally with trichomes; auricles present as erect swellings or absent; leaf blades filiform, conduplicate, (3–)8–25 cm × 0.3–0.6 mm, margins usually scabrid, veins 5(–7); adaxial to abaxial sclerenchyma strands absent, abaxial sclerenchyma in a continuous ring; ligule (0.1–)0.2–0.5 mm, margin ciliate. Panicle contracted, narrow, 2–8 cm; branches (0.5–)1–2 cm, 1 at lowest node. Spikelets 4–6 mm, greenish, purplish or brown; florets 3–6; glumes glabrous or scabrid below apex; lower glume narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, 1.8–2.8 mm; upper glume lanceolate or broadly lanceolate, 2.8–3.5 mm; rachilla internodes 0.8–1 mm; lemmas 3–4(–5) mm, punctiform or scabrid; awns 0.5–2 mm; palea keels scabrid. Anthers 1.5–2.2 mm. Ovary apex glabrous. Fl. and fr. Jun–Sep.
More
Much like no. 8 [Festuca brachyphylla Schult. & Schult.f.]; sheaths open to the base; blades ca 0.5 mm wide, firm, the sclerenchyma forming a continuous, ± even band; infl more open and spreading; spikelets 5–7 mm, 3–8-fld; lemmas 3–3.5 mm; anthers 2–2.5 mm; 2n=14. Native of Europe, weedy and occasionally intr. in the ne. part of our range. In the past often interpreted broadly to include our spp. 7, 8, and 10.
A tussock forming grass. It grows 60 cm high and spreads 40 cm wide. The leaves are fine and blue-green. The flowers are in panicles and are also blue-green. These are on tall wiry stems.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination anemogamy
Spread epizoochory
Mature width (meter) 0.7
Mature height (meter) 0.2 - 0.5
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) 0.3
Root diameter (meter) 0.2
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a temperate plant. In China it grows in alpine meadows between 1,000-4,400 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 5-9. Tasmanian Herbarium. In Sichuan and Yunnan.
More
Poor, well-drained shallow soils from low to high elevations.
Light 5-8
Soil humidity 1-5
Soil texture 2-5
Soil acidity 3-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 4-8

Usage

Uses animal food environmental use fodder forage ornamental
Edible seeds
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by divisions or seedlings.
Mode divisions seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) 20
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -29
Optimum temperature (C°) 10 - 22
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Festuca ovina habit picture by Sabina Hartmann (cc-by-sa)
Festuca ovina habit picture by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Festuca ovina leaf picture by cajna (cc-by-sa)
Festuca ovina leaf picture by Marine Arnou (cc-by-sa)
Festuca ovina leaf picture by Dieter Bausenwein (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Festuca ovina flower picture by Ondřej Jokerrr83 (cc-by-sa)
Festuca ovina flower picture by Sylvie Hudaverdian (cc-by-sa)
Festuca ovina flower picture by Sylvie Hudaverdian (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Festuca ovina fruit picture by Kelly Doine (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Festuca ovina world distribution map, present in Afghanistan, Austria, Belarus, Canada, Switzerland, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iceland, Italy, Japan, Morocco, Montenegro, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Nepal, Pakistan, Poland, Korea (Democratic People's Republic of), Romania, Russian Federation, Sweden, Turkmenistan, Taiwan, Province of China, Ukraine, and United States of America

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:403212-1
WFO ID wfo-0000871222
COL ID 6HST6
BDTFX ID 27282
INPN ID 98424
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Festuca ovina f. nitida Festuca ovina f. submucronata Festuca ovina subvar. laevifolia Festuca ovina subvar. pubescens Festuca capillaris Avena ovina Festuca agrestis Festuca fontqueriana Festuca glaucoidea Festuca guestphalica Festuca maskerensis Festuca multiflora Festuca oligosantha Festuca pietrosii Festuca guinochetii Festuca vylzaniae Festuca heterophylla Festuca livida Festuca sciaphila Poa setacea Festuca sulcatiformis Bromus ovinus Festuca baumgarteniana Festuca chiisanensis Festuca diffusa Festuca eskia Festuca glaucantha Festuca hallerioides Festuca jumpeiana Festuca lasiantha Festuca malzevii Festuca mariettana Festuca ovina f. aculeolata Festuca ovina f. exilior Festuca ovina f. firmuloides Festuca pauciflora Festuca pratensis Festuca pumila Festuca purpusiana Festuca ruprechtii Festuca sphagnicola Festuca trachyphylla f. firmulacea Festuca verguinii Festuca vorobievii Festuca vulgaris Festuca weilleri Festuca yarochenkoi Gnomonia ovina Festuca scabrifolia Festuca ovina f. ovina Festuca ovina f. glaucoides Festuca filifolia Festuca x serpentinica Festuca ovina var. angustifolia Festuca amethystina var. asperrima Festuca cinerea var. scabrifolia Festuca duriuscula var. alpina Festuca duriuscula var. gracilior Festuca glauca var. exilior Festuca glauca var. firmuloides Festuca glauca var. hallerioides Festuca glauca var. scabrifolia Festuca ovina subsp. coreana Festuca ovina subsp. elata Festuca ovina subsp. firmulacea Festuca ovina subsp. kandavanica Festuca ovina subsp. litoralis Festuca ovina subsp. nipponica Festuca ovina subsp. ruprechtii Festuca ovina subsp. sphagnicola Festuca ovina subsp. sytschuanica Festuca ovina subsp. vylzaniae Festuca ovina var. alpina Festuca ovina var. calligera Festuca ovina var. centroapenninica Festuca ovina var. chiisanensis Festuca ovina var. chosenica Festuca ovina var. coreana Festuca ovina var. elata Festuca ovina var. firmulacea Festuca ovina var. fissa Festuca ovina var. fontqueriana Festuca ovina var. glaucofirmula Festuca ovina var. glaucoidea Festuca ovina var. hibernica Festuca ovina var. jumpeiana Festuca ovina var. juncifolia Festuca ovina var. kandavanica Festuca ovina var. koreanoalpina Festuca ovina var. laevifolia Festuca ovina var. litoralis Festuca ovina var. livida Festuca ovina var. malzevii Festuca ovina var. marchandii Festuca ovina var. maroccana Festuca ovina var. maskerensis Festuca ovina var. nipponica Festuca ovina var. pubiculmis Festuca ovina var. purpusiana Festuca ovina var. ruprechtii Festuca ovina var. ruscinonensis Festuca ovina var. senneniana Festuca ovina var. sulcifera Festuca ovina var. tateyamensis Festuca ovina var. yarochenkoi Festuca rupicola var. sulcatiformis Festuca saximontana subsp. purpusiana Festuca saximontana var. purpusiana Festuca valesiaca var. lasiantha Festuca ovina var. guinochetii Festuca ovina subsp. maroccana Festuca leucantha Festuca ovina var. vulgaris Festuca ovina var. weilleri Festuca ovina subsp. ovina Festuca laevis var. ruprechtii Festuca ovina f. viridis Festuca ovina subvar. angustiflora Festuca ovina var. ovina Festuca ovina subsp. guestphalica Festuca sauvagei Festuca centroapenninica Festuca nigra Festuca trachyphylla var. pubescens Festuca ovina var. baicalensis Festuca ovina

Lower taxons

Festuca ovina f. hispidula Festuca ovina var. djurdjurae
WorldFloraDB 2024