Festuca valesiaca Schleicher ex Gaudin s. l. Agrost. Helvet. 1: 242. 1811.
È&ieth;Ê¿Ñòé RUI SHI YANG MAO.
F. valesiaca subsp. pseudovina (Hackel ex Wiesb.) Hegi, Illustr. Fl. Mitteleuropa 2. 334. 1908; F. ovina var. pseudovina Hackel Bot. Centralb. 8: 405. 1881; Festuca pseudovina Hackel ex Wiesb., Oesterr. Bot. Z. 30: 126. 1880. Subg. Festuca L. sect. Festuca.
Vegetative morphology. Plants softly erect. Plants densely tufted. Plants clumped moderately, or very tightly. 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, or over half the length of the culms. Plants with shoots intravaginal. Culms 20–35(–50) cm tall. Culms 0.4–0.7 mm wide. Culms geniculate (slightly), or strict, erect. Culms internodes glabrous, or scabrous. Culms nodes 1, or 2 (rarely). Uppermost culms nodes in lower 1/3 of the culm. Butt sheaths absent. Sheaths shorter than the internode. Sheaths glabrous, or with trichomes (sometimes basal sheaths). Sheaths pubescent. 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. Ligules 0.1–0.3 mm long. Ligules membranous. Ligules margins ciliate. Ligules apices erose. Leaf blades more or less lax. Leaf blades filiform. Leaf blades conduplicate. Leaf blades (2–)6–15(–20) cm long. Leaf blades adaxial surfaces with trichomes, or glabrous (rarely). Leaf blades adaxial surfaces scabrous. Leaf blades abaxial surfaces with trichomes, or glabrous (rarely). Leaf blades abaxial surfaces scabrous. Leaf blades apices weakly prow tipped, or not prow tipped. Flag leaves blades 2–3.5 cm long. Flag leaves blades distinctly shorter than the sheath. Leaf blades 0.3–0.6 mm wide. Leaf blades 0.5–0.6 mm deep. Veins (3–)5(–7). Adaxial to abaxial sclerenchyma strands absent. Abaxial sclerenchyma poorly developed (sclerenchyma strands 3). Abaxial sclerenchyma in narrow or discrete strands. Ribs 1 (usually only central rib well defined).
Floral morphology. Inflorescences narrowly lanceolate. Inflorescences spiciform. Inflorescences 3–7 cm long. Inflorescences branches 1–2.5 cm long. Inflorescences lowest internodes 0.6–2 cm long. Inflorescences branches at the lowest nodes 1. Inflorescences branches stiff. Inflorescences branches appressed after anthesis. 2–5 fertile spikelets on the longest branches. Inflorescences branches angular in cross section, or flattened and ribbon-like. Inflorescences branches scabrous on the angles. Inflorescences branches vestiture moderate. Pedicels 1–2 mm long. Spikelets 4.5–6 mm long. Spikelets 2–3.5 mm wide. Spikelets greenish, or purplish, or brown. Spikelets broadly lanceolate, or narrowly lanceolate. Florets (2–)3–5. Glumes similar. Glumes membranous, or herbaceous. Glumes with trichomes. Glumes surfaces scabrous. Glumes vestiture at the apex, or over most of the outer surface. Glumes margins ciliolate, or not ciliate. Glumes margins narrowly membranous. Glumes apices accuminate. First glume lanceolate. First glume 2–2.6(–3.5) mm long. First glume 0.4–0.7 mm wide. First glume 1 nerved. First glume 0.6–0.8 as long as second glume. Second glume broadly lanceolate. Second glume 3–4.2 mm long. Second glume 1–1.2 mm wide. Second glume 3 nerved. Second glume similar in length to first lemma. Second glume 0.6–0.7 as long as the spikelets. Rachilla internodes 0.4–0.8(–1.2) mm long. Rachilla internodes antrorsely scabrous. Rachilla internodes cylindrical. Rachilla internodes clavate (slightly). Rachilla internodes straight. Lemmas 3.8–5 mm long. Lemmas lanceolate, or broadly lanceolate. Lemmas subcoriaceous. Lemmas rounded on the back. Lemmas veins 5. Lemmas nerveless in dorsal view or sometimes with only the centre vein distinct. Lemmas with trichomes. Lemmas scabrous. Lemmas trichomes on the upper portion, or over the entire surface. Lemmas margins smooth. Lemmas upper margins not membranous. Lemmas apices entire. Lemmas apices accuminate. Lemmas apices awns present. Lemmas apices awns 0.7–2.2 mm long. Lemmas apices awns much shorter than the lemmas. Paleas (2.6–)3.5–4 mm long. Paleas 0.5–0.7 mm apart. Paleas equal or subequal to the lemmas, or conspicuous but relatively short. Paleas keels scabrous. Paleas inter-keel regions glabrous, or puberulent. Anthers (1–)1.6–2.4 mm long. Ovary apices glabrous. Fruits 2.8 mm long.
Ecology. Flowering time May-Aug. In grassy places of mountain slopes, subalpine meadows, grasslands and along roadsides; 1000–3700 m. Distribution. Northwestern China: Qinghai, Xinjiang. Southwestern China: Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Xizang. Northeastern China: Jilin.
Notes. Tzvelev (1976) recognized several subspecies within this taxon and distinguished them as follows.
F. valesiaca subsp. pseudovina (Hackel ex Wiesb.) Hegi: lamina green; sclerenchyma bands almost always 5; spikelets (4-)4.5–5.6(-6) mm long; lemma (2.3)2.8–3.8(-4.5) mm long; leaf blade 0.3–0.6(-0.7) mm in diameter. Reported from Central Asia.
F. valesiaca subsp. sulcata (Hack.) Schinz et R. Keller: lamina green; sclerenchyma bands almost always 5; spikelets (5.5-)6.5–8.5(-10) mm long; lemma (4.5-)4.8–5.5(-6) mm long; leaf blade (0.4-) 0.5–0.9(-1.1) mm in diameter. Reported from Tien Shan (western and southern).
F. valesciaca subsp. hypsophila (Saint -Yves) Tzvelev: spikelets (4-)5–6(-7) mm long; lemma 3.2–4.2(-4.6) mm long ; leaf blade (0.3-)0.4–0.6(-0.7) mm in diameter. Described from Tien Shan (central) .
F. valesiaca subsp. kirghisorum (Katsch. ex Tzvelev) Tzvelev: spikelets (7-)8–11(-14) mm long; lemma (4.8-)5–6(-6.5) mm long; leaf blade (0.5-)0.6–0.8(-0.9) mm in diameter. Reported from Tien Shan, Pamir, Mongolia, Altai.
F. valesiaca subsp. valesiaca: lamina bluish green; sclerenchyma bands 5–7, sometiems fused into a continous subepidermal layer; spikelets (4-)5–6(-7.5) mm long; lemma (2.8-)3.2–4.2(-4.7) mm long; lamina (0.3-)0.4–0.6(-0.8) mm in diameter. Reported from Altai, Tien Shan, Pamir, and China (western part).
F. valesiaca subsp. pseudodalmatica (Krajina) Soo: lamina bluish green; sclerenchyma bands 5–7, sometiems fused into a continous subepidermal layer; spikelets (5.4-)6–7.5(-9) mm long; lemma (4.3-)4.5–5(-5.2) mm long; lamina (0.4-)0.5–0.7(-0.8) mm in diameter. Reported from Tien Shan (northern and western parts).
Illustrations. • Herbarium specimen: NAU. Herbarium specimen of F. valesiaca. Sample collected in Arizona, Kaibab Forest near the Grand Canyon. It was possibly planted to stabilize roadsides in the area. • Line drawing. Illustration of F. valesiaca from Hegi, G. 1906. Illustrierte Flora von Mittel-Europa. • Leaf anatomy. Leaf cross section of F. valesiaca. Leaf blades are 0.2–0.35–0.5 mm wide and 0.4–0.6–0.85 mm deep, with 5–7 veins; adaxial to abaxial sclerenchyma strands are absent; abaxial sclerenchyma strands are well developed, in broad bands or continuous. There are 3 stout strands at midvein and blade margins; sclerenchyma rarely confluent. Leaf cross sections are similar to those of F. lenensis Drobow, but smaller. There is one well defined rib and 2 poorly defined ribs. • Distribution in China.
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’.
