''Festuca rubra'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 name red fescue, creeping red fescue or the rush-leaf fescue. It is widespread across much of the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is best adapted to well-drained soils in cool,

temperate climates In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ra ...

; it prefers shadier areas and is often planted for its shade tolerance. Wild animals browse it, but it has not been important for domestic forage due to low productivity and palatability. It is also an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

for gardens.

Description

''Festuca rubra'' is

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

and has sub-species that have

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

s and/or form

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 ...

tufts. It mainly exists in neutral and acidic soils. It can grow between 2 and 20 cm tall. Like all fescues, the leaves are narrow and needle like, making it less palatable to

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

. The swards that it forms are not as tufted as sheep's fescue (''Festuca ovina'') or wavy hair grass ('' Deschampsia flexuosa''). The tufted nature is what gives the grass its springy characteristic. The leaves are bright green.

Flowers

There are 4 to 10

spikelet A spikelet, in botany, describes the typical arrangement of the inflorescences of grasses, sedges and some other monocots. Each spikelet has one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes. The part of the sp ...

flowers, which are up to 15 mm long. The

ligule A ligule (from "strap", variant of ''lingula'', from ''lingua'' "tongue") is a thin outgrowth at the junction of leaf A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above g ...

is very short and blunt.

Cultivation

''Festuca rubra'', as red fescue or creeping red fescue, is cultivated as an ornamental plant for use as a

turfgrass Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

and

groundcover Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows low over an area of ground, which protects the topsoil from erosion and drought. In a terrestrial ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as the ...

. It can be left completely unmowed, or occasionally trimmed for a lush

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

-like look. There are many subspecies, and many

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s have been bred for the

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

trade. File:Gewoon roodzwenkgras tongetje (Festuca rubra var. commutata ligula).jpg, The ligule is very short and blunt. Image:Festuca.rubra.2.jpg, ''Festuca rubra''

References

External links

Festuca Rubra
detailed ecology at the Fire Effects Information System, US Forest Service *
Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Festuca rubra''"Tips for Fine Fall Fescue"
, article at Learn2Grow.com
USDA Plants Profile – Festuca rubra
rubra Grasses of North America Grasses of Asia Grasses of Europe Native grasses of California Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Groundcovers Lawn grasses Ornamental grass {{Pooideae-stub