''Festuca elmeri'' is a species of

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

known by the common names coast fescue and Elmer's fescue. It is a

bunchgrass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennia ...

native to the US states of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, where it often grows in wet, shady areas in coastal counties.

Description

This

fescue ''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on every ...

grows in thin bunches with erect stems reaching up to one meter in height. The leaves are somewhat hairy and 10 to 40 centimeters long. The drooping

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

holds spikelets which are each about a centimeter long and have light-colored, hairlike awns.

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants Profile

Grass Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
elmeri Bunchgrasses of North America Native grasses of California Grasses of the United States Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of the Klamath Mountains Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Taxa named by Elmer Drew Merrill Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Pooideae-stub