Festuca pratensis Huds. Fl. Angl.: 37. 1762.
CAO DIAN YANG MAO.
F. fluitans var. pratensis (Huds.) Huds. Fl. Angl. Ed. 2: 47. 1778. Schedonorus pratensis (Huds.) P. Beauv. Ess. Agrostogr.: 99, 163, 177. 1812. Bromus pratensis (Huds.) Spreng., Syst. veg. 1: 359. 1825, non Lam. Encycl. 1: 468. 1785. Lolium festuca Raspail ex Mutel, Fl. franç. 4: 111. 1837, pro syn. Bucetum pratense (Huds.) Parn., Grasses Scotland: 105, pl. 46. 1842. F. elatior var. pratensis (Huds.) A. Gray, Manual Ed. 5: 634. 1867. F. elatior subsp. pratensis (Huds.) Hackel Bot. Centralbl. 8: 407. 1881. Tragus pratensis (Huds.) Panz. ex B. D. Jacks., Index Kew. 2: 1099. 1895, nom. illeg. Lectotype: Herb. Sloane 125.16. (Reveal et al. 1991). Lolium pratense (Huds.) Darbysh., Novon 3: 242. 1993. Type: England in pratis et pascuis. Subg. Schedonorus (Beauv.) Peterm, sect. Bovinae (Fries ex Anderss.) Hack.
Vegetative morphology. Plants deep green. Plants softly erect. Plants loosely tufted. Plants with bases purplish, or not purplish. Plants with shoots extravaginal. Rhizomes present, or absent. Culms 30–130 cm tall. Culms geniculate, or strict, erect. Culms internodes glabrous. Culms nodes 2–4. Sheaths shorter than the internode. Sheaths glabrous. Sheaths open more than half their length. Sheaths not conspicuous at the base of the plant. Sheaths splitting between the veins. Sheaths, of uppermost culm leaf not inflated. Collars glabrous. Auricles claw-like (0.7–1.1 mm long, conspicuously smooth and without trichomes). Auricular cilia absent. Ligules 0.2–0.5 mm long. Ligules margins ciliate. Leaf blades more or less lax. Leaf blades flat (or loosely rolled). Leaf blades 10–25 cm long. Leaf blades 2–7 mm wide (leaves not very rigid, more or less smooth on the upper surface with sclerenchyma strands predominantly toward the adaxial surface). Leaf blades adaxial surfaces glabrous, or with trichomes. Leaf blades abaxial surfaces glabrous, or with trichomes. Flag leaves blades 5–15 cm long. Veins 18–25. Adaxial to abaxial sclerenchyma strands present.
Floral morphology. Inflorescences (6–)10–25 cm long. Inflorescences branches (3.5–)4–6.5 cm long. Inflorescences branches at the lowest nodes 2 (usually, rarely 1, the longer branch with 4–6 spikelets, the shorter branch with 1–3 spikelets; the internodes of the branches less than twice as long as the spikelets). Inflorescences branches appressed after anthesis (nodding at the tip). 1–6 fertile spikelets on the longest branches. Inflorescences branches angular in cross section. Inflorescences branches scabrous on the angles. Spikelets proliferating absent (usually occurring occasionally). Spikelets aggregated towards the ends of the branches. Spikelets (8.5–)12–15.5(–17) mm long. Spikelets 2–5 mm wide. Florets (2–)4–10(–12). Glumes glabrous, or with trichomes. Glumes vestiture at the apex, or over most of the outer surface. Glumes margins narrowly membranous. First glume (2–)2.6–4(–4.5) mm long. First glume 1–2 nerved. Second glume (3–)3.5–5 mm long. Second glume 3 nerved. Second glume shorter than first lemma. Rachilla internodes glabrous. Lemmas (5–)6–8 mm long. Lemmas nerveless in dorsal view or sometimes with only the centre vein distinct. Lemmas glabrous, or with trichomes. Lemmas trichomes on the upper portion, or over the entire surface. Lemmas apices hyaline, acute, rarely awn-tipped. Lemmas apices awns present, or absent. Lemmas apices awns 0–2 mm long. Paleas 6–7 mm long. Paleas inter-keel regions pubescent. Lodicules with marginal teeth. Lodicules glabrous. Lodicules 0.9–1.2 mm long. Anthers (0.5–)2–4.6 mm long. Ovary apices glabrous. Fruits 3–3.5 mm long. Cytology. 2n = 14, or 28, or 42, or 70.
Ecology. Cultivated plants.
Notes. This "meadow fescue" was widely cultivated as a pasture grass in the late 1800's early 1900's. It may have been introduced to China at this time. It has been suggested, mainly on DNA evidence and intergenergic hybridiation between this species and species of Lolium that this taxon might be placed in that genus but this has not been widely taken up.
Illustrations. • Plant at anthesis. Plant of F. pratensis at anthesis, showing inflorescences with few branches and few spikelets per branch. At anthesis the branches spread open but remain at acute angles to the rachis. Canada, Ontario, Ottawa. Aiken 95–001. CAN. • Line drawing. Illustration from Scribner (1898) as F. elatior pratensis. MEADOW FESCUE. The notes accompanying the description state, "In fields and waysides, introduced, Nova Scotia, to North Carolina, west to Washington, Oregon and Kansas". In 1898, this species was more common than REED FESCUE, while in 1996 it is less so. • Contrasting auricle characters of F. arundinacea and F. pratensis. Contrasting auricle characters of F. arundinacea and F. pratensis. Left, F. pratensis, auricles are glabrous. Right, F. arundinacea, auricles are ciliate. • Close up of base of inflorescence at anthesis. A close up of the base of the inflorescence of F. pratensis at anthesis, showing the lowest node with a single spikelet (left) and a short branch that in this case has two spikelets. • Contrast of inflorescences at anthesis. Contrasting inflorescence shape at anthesis. Left, inflorescence of F. pratensis showing the lowest node with a single spikelet and a short branch that may have 2–4 spikelets. Right, inflorescence of F. arundinacea showing the lowest node having two branches, each with several spikelets. • Contrast of inflorescences after anthesis. Contrasting inflorescences after anthesis. Left, an inflorescence of F. pratensis showing appressed branches at the lowest node. There is a single spikelet right of the main rachis and a longer branch with 3–4 spikelets to the left. Right, an inflorescence of F. arundinacea. The branches are not appressed after anthesis, and the way that a pair of branches is borne towards one side of the rachis is characteristic. • Post-anthesis inflorescence. A post-anthesis inflorescence of F. pratensis showing the lowest node with a single spikelet (right) and a short branch that in this case has 4 spikelets (appressed left). The flag leaf is close to the base of the inflorescence and almost at right angles to it.
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’.
