Festuca dahurica (Saint-Yves) Kreczetovicz & Bobrov Komarov, Fl. URSS 2: 517, 771.t. 40.f.13:a, b. 1934.
´ÏÎÚÀïÑòéDA WU LI YANG MAO.
Festuca ovina Linnaeus subsp. laevis Saint-Yves var. dahurica Saint-Yves, Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. 71: 40. 1924. Type: Five probably isotypes "Selenginsk, in lapidosis, 1829, leg. Turczaninow".
LE (Tzvelev 1983). Subg. Festuca L. sect. Festuca.
Vegetative morphology. Plants stiffly erect. Plants loosely tufted, or turf forming. Plants clumped loosely. Plants with non-flowering shoots more common than flowering shoots. Plants with leaves mostly basal. Plants with tillering leaves 1/4 to 1/3 the length of the culms. Plants with shoots intravaginal. Culms (20–)30–60 cm tall. Culms 0.7–1.3 mm wide. Culms strict, erect. Culms internodes glabrous. Culms internodes smooth. Culms nodes 1–2. Uppermost culms nodes in lower 1/3 of the culm. Butt sheaths present, or absent. Sheaths shorter than the internode. Sheaths glabrous. Sheaths open more than half their length. Sheaths conspicuous at the base of the plant, persisting for more than 1 year. Sheaths remaining entire, not conspicuously splitting between the veins. Auricles erect swellings. Ligules 0.2–0.3 mm long. Ligules scabrous. Ligules membranous. Ligules margins ciliate, or ciliolate. Ligules apices erose, or lacerate. Leaf blades erect, stiffish. Leaf blades filiform. Leaf blades conduplicate. Leaf blades 4–11 cm long. Leaf blades adaxial surfaces glabrous, or with trichomes. Leaf blades adaxial surfaces glabrescent. Leaf blades abaxial surfaces glabrous. Flag leaves blades 2–4 cm long. Flag leaves blades distinctly shorter than the sheath. Leaf blades 0.5–0.7(–1) mm wide. Leaf blades 0.7–0.9 mm deep. Veins 5–7. Adaxial to abaxial sclerenchyma strands absent. Abaxial sclerenchyma well developed. Abaxial sclerenchyma in broad bands or continuous. Ribs 3 (sometimes only central well defined).
Floral morphology. Inflorescences narrowly lanceolate, or lanceolate. Inflorescences spiciform. Inflorescences (3–)6–8 cm long. Inflorescences branches 1–3 cm long. Inflorescences lowest internodes 0.5–1.7 cm long. Inflorescences branches at the lowest nodes 1–2. Inflorescences branches scabrous on the angles. Inflorescences branches vestiture sparse. Pedicels 1.5–7.5 mm long. Spikelets aggregated towards the ends of the branches, or lower 2/3 or 3/4 without spikelets. Spikelets 6–8 mm long. Spikelets greenish, or yellowish. Spikelets broadly lanceolate. Florets 4–5. Glumes glabrous. Glumes margins ciliolate. Glumes margins broadly membranous. Glumes apices acute. First glume lanceolate. First glume 3–4 mm long. First glume 1 nerved. Second glume lanceolate. Second glume 4.5–5 mm long. Second glume 3 nerved. Rachilla internodes 1–1.5 mm long. Rachilla internodes antrorsely scabrous. Rachilla internodes flattened. Lemmas 5.5–6.5 mm long. Lemmas lanceolate. Lemmas rounded on the back. Lemmas veins 5. Lemmas glabrous. Lemmas margins scaberulous. Lemmas upper margins not membranous. Lemmas apices accuminate. Lemmas apices awns absent. Paleas 5–5.5 mm long. Paleas equal or subequal to the lemmas. Paleas keels glabrous. Paleas inter-keel regions glabrous. Anthers (2–)2.5–3 mm long. Ovary apices glabrous.
Ecology. Flowering time Jun. On mountain slopes ; 600–1400 m. Distribution. Northwestern China: Gansu, Qinghai. Northern China: Hebei, Nei Mongol. Northeastern China: Heilongjiang, Jilin.
Notes. Classification following Tzvelev (1976). He did not distinguish any subspecies in this taxon. If subspcies are recognized, they can be distinguished as follows: Panicles 6–8 cm; leaf blades 0.8–1 mm wide; anthers 2.5–3 mm...subsp. dahurica Panicles 3–5 cm; leaf blades ca. 0.6 mm wide; anthers ca. 2 mm...subsp. mongolica.
Illustrations. • Herbarium specimen. Note persisting basal sheaths, leaves in a basal tuft, and narrow, spike-like panicles. KEW (H2000/02132 13), annotated as "Festuca dahurica (St.-Yves) krecz. et Bobr." by E. Alexeev in 1976. • Leaf anatomy. Leaf anatomy from Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. 71: 40. 1924, published as Festuca ovina Linnaeus subsp. laevis Saint-Yves var. dahurica Saint-Yves. Leaf blades erect, stiffish, filiform, conduplicate,0.5–0.7 mm wide, 0.7–0.9 mm deep; veins 5–7; adaxial to abaxial sclerenchyma strands absent; abaxial sclerenchyma well developed, in broad bands; ribs 4 (sometimes only central rib and 2 lateral ribs well defined). • Close up to spikelets. Spikelets 6–8 mm long, greenish or yellowish, broadly lanceolate. Florets 4–5, Glumes membranous, glabrous, margins ciliolate, margins broadly membranous, apices acute. First glumes lanceolate, 3–4 mm long, 1 nerved. Second glumes lanceolate, 4.5–5 mm long, 3 nerved. Lemmas 5.5–6.5 mm long, lanceolate, rounded on the back, veins 5, glabrous. Lemmas apices entire, accuminate. Lemmas apices awns absent. KEW: H2000/02132 13. • Distribution map.
Cite this publication as: ‘Xiang Chen, S.G. Aiken, and M.J. Dallwitz (2002 onwards). Festuca of China: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 4th February 2003. http://www.cdelta.ibcas.ac.cn’.
