Festuca nitidula Stapf In J. D. Hooker, Fl. Brit. Ind. 7: 350. 1897.
WEI YAO YANG MAO.
Subg. Festuca L. sect. Aulaxyer.
Vegetative morphology. Plants loosely tufted, or turf forming. Plants clumped loosely, or moderately, or very tightly (rare). Plants with non-flowering shoots more common than flowering shoots, or non-flowering shoots less common than flowering shoots. Plants with leaves mostly basal, or along the stems. Plants with tillering leaves 1/4 to 1/3 the length of the culms. Plants with shoots intravaginal, or extravaginal. Culms (10–)18–60 cm tall. Culms 0.6–1.1 mm wide. Culms geniculate, or strict, erect. Culms internodes glabrous. Culms nodes 1 (usually), or 2. Uppermost culms nodes in lower 1/3 of the culm. Sheaths longer than the internode, or shorter than the internode (usually). Sheaths glabrous. Sheaths open more than half their length. Sheaths not conspicuous at the base of the plant. Sheaths remaining entire, not conspicuously splitting between the veins. Auricles erect swellings, or absent (usually). Ligules 0.2–0.5(–1) mm long. Ligules membranous. Ligules margins ciliolate. Ligules apices erose (usually), or lacerate. Leaf blades erect, stiffish. Leaf blades filiform, or linear. Leaf blades flat, or involute. Leaf blades adaxial lateral longitudinal ridges distinctly raised. Leaf blades (2–)3–8(–15) cm long. Leaf blades 1–2 mm wide. Leaf blades adaxial surfaces glabrous, or with trichomes. Leaf blades adaxial surfaces scabrous. Leaf blades abaxial surfaces glabrous. Leaf blades apices strongly prow tipped, or not prow tipped. Flag leaves blades 2–6 cm long. Flag leaves blades distinctly shorter than the sheath. Veins 7–12. Adaxial to abaxial sclerenchyma strands present, or absent. Abaxial sclerenchyma poorly developed. Abaxial sclerenchyma in narrow or discrete strands. Ribs 7–11.
Floral morphology. Inflorescences broadly lanceolate, or pyramidal. Inflorescences loosely open. Inflorescences 4–10 cm long. Inflorescences branches 3–5(–7) cm long. Inflorescences lowest internodes 2–3 cm long. Inflorescences branches at the lowest nodes 1. Inflorescences branches flexible. Inflorescences branches spreading after anthesis. 5–11 fertile spikelets on the longest branches. Inflorescences branches flattened and ribbon-like. Inflorescences branches scabrous on the angles, or glabrous (usually). Inflorescences branches vestiture sparse, or moderate. Pedicels 1–3(–5) mm long. Spikelets lower third of the branches without spikelets, or lower half of the branches without spikelets. Spikelets 5–6(–7) mm long. Spikelets purplish (usually), or brown. Spikelets broadly lanceolate. Florets 2–4(–5). Glumes dissimilar. Glumes membranous, or herbaceous. Glumes glabrous. Glumes margins not ciliate. Glumes margins broadly membranous. Glumes apices accuminate, or acute (second glumes, sometimes). First glume lanceolate. First glume (1.5–)2–3 mm long. First glume 1 nerved. First glume 0.6–0.7 as long as second glume. Second glume oblong, or broadly lanceolate. Second glume 3–4 mm long. Second glume 3 nerved. Second glume shorter than first lemma. Second glume 0.6–0.7 as long as the spikelets. Rachilla internodes 0.8–1 mm long. Rachilla internodes antrorsely scabrous. Rachilla internodes cylindrical. Rachilla internodes narrow. Rachilla internodes straight. Lemmas 4–5 mm long. Lemmas broadly lanceolate. Lemmas subcoriaceous. Lemmas rounded on the back. Lemmas veins 5. Lemmas with trichomes. Lemmas scabrous. Lemmas trichomes on the upper portion. Lemmas margins smooth. Lemmas upper margins narrowly membranous, or broadly membranous. Lemmas apices acute, or accuminate. Lemmas apices awns (0.5–)1–2(–4) mm long. Lemmas apices awns much shorter than the lemmas. Paleas 4–5 mm long. Paleas 0.6–0.7 mm apart. Paleas equal or subequal to the lemmas. Paleas keels scabrous. Paleas inter-keel regions glabrous, or puberulent. Anthers 0.5–0.8(–1) mm long. Ovary apices hairy. Ovary hairs sparse, or moderate. Fruits 2.5–3 mm long (immature).
Ecology. Flowering time Jun.-Sep. On alpine meadows, in grassy places of mountain slopes, flood land, wet places, among forests grassy, swamp meadows; 2500–5300 m. Distribution. Northwestern China: Gansu, Qinghai. Southwestern China: Sichuan, Yunnan, Xizang.
Notes. Alexeev (1978) placed this taxon in section Festuca and provided a rubra-like leaf cross section. Lu (1992) placed it in subg. Festuca, sect. Nitidulae S. L. Lu and named it as the type species of the section. She also placed F. brachyphylla in this sect. probably because the two species have tiny anthers. Festuca nitidula is unlike other members of the F. brachyphylla agg.
Illustrations. • Leaf anatomy. Leaf anatomy from Byull. Mosk. Obshch. Ispyt. Prir. Biol. 83(4): 120. (E. Alexeev, 1978). Leaf blades filiform or linear, flat or involute, adaxial surfaces glabrous or scabrous, abaxial surfaces glabrous, ; veins 7–12 ; adaxial to abaxial sclerenchyma strands present over the mid-vein but otherwise absent. Abaxial sclerenchyma poorly developed, in discrete, relatively narrow strands opposite the veins; ribs described as 7–11, but only 5–6 in above illustrations. • 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’.
