''Festuca ovina'', sheep's fescue or sheep fescue, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in law ...

. It is sometimes confused with hard fescue (''Festuca trachyphylla'').

General description

It is a

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

sometimes found in acidic ground, and in mountain pasture, throughout Europe (with the exception of some Mediterranean areas) and eastwards across much of Asia; it has also been introduced to North America. It is one of the defining species of the

British NVC community CG2 NVC community CG2 (''Festuca ovina - Avenula pratensis'' grassland) is one of the calcicolous grassland communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of three short-sward communities associated with heavy grazing, ...

, i.e. ''Festuca ovina'' – '' Avenula pratensis'' grassland, one of the calcicolous grassland communities. However, the species has a wide ecological tolerance in the UK, occurring on both basic and acid soils, as well as old mining sites and spoil heaps that are contaminated with heavy metals. Sheep's fescue is a densely tufted perennial grass. Its greyish-green leaves are short and bristle-like. The

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is ...

s are both slightly feathery and a bit one-sided. It flowers from May until June, and is wind-pollinated. It has no rhizomes. Sheep's fescue is a drought-resistant grass, commonly found on poor, well-drained mineral soil. It is sometimes used as a drought-tolerant

lawn A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawnmower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. ...

grass. The great ability to adapt to poor soils is due to mycorrhizal fungi, which increase the absorption of water and nutrients and also are potential determinants of plant community structure. The symbiosis with fungi increases mineral, nitrogen and phosphate absorption, thanks to fungal

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...

e that expand deeply in the soil and cover plant roots, increasing the exchange surface. The symbiosis also makes every plant interconnected with the surrounding plants, making possible the exchange of nutrients between plants far from each other. More colourful garden varieties with blue-grey foliage are available.

Wildlife value

:''See also List of Lepidoptera that feed on grasses'' This is one of the food plants for the

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larva, larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterfly, butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawfly ...

s of several butterflies and moths, including the

gatekeeper A gatekeeper is a person who controls access to something, for example via a city gate or bouncer, or more abstractly, controls who is granted access to a category or status. Gatekeepers assess who is "in or out", in the classic words of manage ...

and the

meadow brown The meadow brown (''Maniola jurtina'') is a butterfly found in the Palearctic realm. Its range includes Europe south of 62°N, Russia eastwards to the Urals, Asia Minor, Iraq, Iran, North Africa and the Canary Islands. The larvae feed on grasse ...

, the

small heath Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. ...

, and the

grass moth The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies inclu ...

'' Agriphila inquinatella''.

Photos

Image:Ruig schapengras plant (Festuca ovina subsp. hirtula).jpg, ''Festuca ovina'' subsp. ''hirtula'' plants Image:Ruig schapengras bloeiwijze (Festuca ovina subsp. hirtula).jpg, ''Festuca ovina'' subsp. ''hirtula'' inflorescens Image:Ruig schapengras aartjes (Festuca ovina subsp. hirtula).jpg, ''Festuca ovina'' subsp. ''hirtula'' spikelets Image:Ruig schapengras ligula (Festuca ovina subsp. hirtula).jpg, ''Festuca ovina'' subsp. ''hirtula'' ligula Image:Sheep fescue.jpg, Showing its tufted nature

Illustrations

Image:Illustration_Festuca_ovina0.jpg Image:Festuca spp Sturm42.jpg

References

ovina Grasses of Asia Grasses of Europe Grasses of China Grasses of Russia Flora of Central Asia Flora of Eastern Europe Flora of Northeast Asia Flora of Western Asia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Fodder Garden plants of Asia Garden plants of Europe Lawn grasses Groundcovers {{Pooideae-stub