Festuca weixiensis L. Liou Flora Reipulicae Populoris Sinicae 9(2) (in press).
άÎ÷Ñòé WEI XI YANG MAO.
Subg. Festuca L. sect. Aulaxyer.
Vegetative morphology. Plants stiffly erect. Plants loosely tufted, or densely tufted. Plants clumped loosely (usually), or moderately. 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 (usually). Plants with shoots extravaginal. Rhizomes absent. Culms 15–40(–60) cm tall. Culms 0.8–1.3 mm wide. Culms geniculate, or strict, erect. Culms internodes glabrous. Culms nodes 1–3. Uppermost culms nodes in lower 1/3 of the culm, or in mid 1/3 of the culm. Sheaths shorter than the internode. Sheaths glabrous, or with trichomes (sometimes on 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, or absent (usually). Ligules 0.2–0.5 mm long. Ligules membranous. Ligules margins ciliate. Ligules apices erose. Leaf blades erect, stiffish. Leaf blades filiform. Leaf blades conduplicate. Leaf blades 4–12 cm long. Leaf blades margins smooth, or scaberulous. Flag leaves blades 4–7 cm long. Flag leaves blades distinctly shorter than the sheath. Leaf blades 0.5–0.7 mm wide. Leaf blades 0.7–0.8 mm deep. Veins 7. Adaxial to abaxial sclerenchyma strands absent. Abaxial sclerenchyma poorly developed (sclerenchyma strands 7–9). Abaxial sclerenchyma in narrow or discrete strands. Ribs 5 (central rib and 4 lateral ribs well defined).
Floral morphology. Inflorescences lanceolate, or broadly lanceolate. Inflorescences loosely open. Inflorescences 7–15 cm long. Inflorescences branches 3–10 cm long. Inflorescences lowest internodes 2.5–5.5 cm long. Inflorescences branches at the lowest nodes 1, or 2 (rarely). Inflorescences branches flexible. 3–10 fertile spikelets on the longest branches. Inflorescences branches angular in cross section. Inflorescences branches scabrous on the angles. Inflorescences branches vestiture moderate. Pedicels 1.5–3.5 mm long. Spikelets lower third of the branches without spikelets, or lower half of the branches without spikelets. Spikelets 6–8 mm long. Spikelets 1.5–2.5 mm wide. Spikelets greenish, or purplish, or brown. Spikelets lanceolate. Florets 3–4. Glumes herbaceous. Glumes glabrous. Glumes margins not ciliate. Glumes margins broadly membranous. Glumes apices accuminate. First glume lanceolate. First glume (1.2–)2.3–2.8 mm long. First glume 0.4–0.6 mm wide. First glume 1 nerved. First glume (0.4–)0.5–0.65 as long as second glume. Second glume broadly lanceolate. Second glume 3.5–4.7 mm long. Second glume 0.8–1.1 mm wide. Second glume 3 nerved. Second glume shorter than first lemma. Second glume 0.4–0.6 as long as the spikelets. Rachilla internodes 0.9–1.2 mm long. Rachilla internodes antrorsely scabrous. Rachilla internodes flattened (usually), or cylindrical. Rachilla internodes narrow. Rachilla internodes straight. Lemmas 5–6 mm long. Lemmas lanceolate, or broadly lanceolate (sometimes). Lemmas subcoriaceous. Lemmas somewhat dorsally compressed. Lemmas veins 5. Lemmas nerveless in dorsal view or sometimes with only the centre vein distinct. Lemmas glabrous, or with trichomes (usually). Lemmas scabrous. Lemmas trichomes on the upper portion. Lemmas margins smooth. Lemmas upper margins narrowly membranous, or not membranous. Lemmas apices accuminate. Lemmas apices awns (3.5–)5–8(–10) mm long. Lemmas apices awns about as long as the lemmas, or much longer than the lemmas. Paleas 4.5–5.5 mm long. Paleas 0.7–0.9 mm apart. Paleas equal or subequal to the lemmas. Paleas keels scabrous. Paleas inter-keel regions glabrous, or scabrous. Anthers (1–)1.4–2 mm long. Ovary apices glabrous, or hairy (slightly). Ovary hairs sparse, or moderate.
Ecology. Flowering time Jul.-Sep. On alpine meadows, near forests; 2100–3700 m. Distribution. Southwestern China: Sichuan, Yunnan.
Notes. Assigned to subg. Festuca sect. Festuca. The limited number of specimens we have seen suggest that it is very close to F. stapfii.
Illustrations. • Leaf anatomy. Leaf blade conduplicate 0.5 mm wide 0.7 mm deep. Veins 7; adaxial to abaxial sclerenchyma strands absent. Abaxial sclerenchyma poorly developed sclerenchyma strands 7, in discrete, relatively narrow strands opposite the veins; ribs 5 (central rib and 4 lateral ribs well defined). • 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’.
