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Fescue (Festuca) is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of about 300 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 of perennial
Perennial plant

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants....
 tufted grass
Grass

Grass is the common word that generally describes monocotyledonous green plants. The family Poaceae are the "true grasses" and include most plants grown as grains, for pasture, and for lawns ....
es, belonging to the grass family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Poaceae
Poaceae

Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the Magnoliophyta. Plants of this family are usually called grasses; the shrub- or tree-like plants in this family are called bamboo ....
 (subfamily Pooideae
Pooideae

The Pooideae is a subfamily of the true grass family Poaceae....
). The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution
Cosmopolitan distribution

In biogeography, a biological category of living things is said to have cosmopolitan distribution if this category can be found almost anywhere around the world....
, although the majority of the species are found in cool temperate areas, such as the transition zone
Transition zone

Transition Zone The transition zone is part of the Earth?s mantle, and is located between the lower mantle and the upper mantle, between a depth of 410 and 660 km....
 and Canada. The genus is closely related to ryegrass
Ryegrass

Ryegrass is a genus of nine species of tufted grasses, family Poaceae. Also called tares , these plants are native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but are widely cultivated and naturalised elsewhere....
 (Lolium), and recent evidence from phylogenetic studies using DNA sequencing
DNA sequencing

The term DNA sequencing refers to methods for determining the order of the nucleotide bases, adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine, in a molecule of DNA....
 of plant mitochondrial DNA
DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetics instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses....
 shows that the genus lacks monophyly
Monophyly

In common cladistic usage, a monophyletic group is a clade, consisting of an ancestor and all its descendants. The term is synonymous with the uncommon term holophyly....
.






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Fescue (Festuca) is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of about 300 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 of perennial
Perennial plant

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants....
 tufted grass
Grass

Grass is the common word that generally describes monocotyledonous green plants. The family Poaceae are the "true grasses" and include most plants grown as grains, for pasture, and for lawns ....
es, belonging to the grass family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Poaceae
Poaceae

Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the Magnoliophyta. Plants of this family are usually called grasses; the shrub- or tree-like plants in this family are called bamboo ....
 (subfamily Pooideae
Pooideae

The Pooideae is a subfamily of the true grass family Poaceae....
). The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution
Cosmopolitan distribution

In biogeography, a biological category of living things is said to have cosmopolitan distribution if this category can be found almost anywhere around the world....
, although the majority of the species are found in cool temperate areas, such as the transition zone
Transition zone

Transition Zone The transition zone is part of the Earth?s mantle, and is located between the lower mantle and the upper mantle, between a depth of 410 and 660 km....
 and Canada. The genus is closely related to ryegrass
Ryegrass

Ryegrass is a genus of nine species of tufted grasses, family Poaceae. Also called tares , these plants are native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but are widely cultivated and naturalised elsewhere....
 (Lolium), and recent evidence from phylogenetic studies using DNA sequencing
DNA sequencing

The term DNA sequencing refers to methods for determining the order of the nucleotide bases, adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine, in a molecule of DNA....
 of plant mitochondrial DNA
DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetics instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses....
 shows that the genus lacks monophyly
Monophyly

In common cladistic usage, a monophyletic group is a clade, consisting of an ancestor and all its descendants. The term is synonymous with the uncommon term holophyly....
. As a result plant taxonomists have placed several species, including the forage grasses, tall fescue and meadow fescue, formerly belonging to the genus Festuca into the genus Lolium.

Fescues range from small grasses only 100 mm tall or less with very fine thread-like leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 less than 1 mm wide, to tall grasses up to 2 m tall with large leaves up to 600 mm (2 ft) long and 20 mm (3/4 in.) broad.

Fescue pollen
Pollen

Pollen is a fine to coarse powder consisting of Gametophyte , which produce the male gametes of spermatophyta. A hard coat covering the pollen grain protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement between the stamens of the flower to the pistil of the next flower....
 is a significant contributor to hay fever
Hay Fever

Hay Fever is a comic play written by No?l Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Best described as a cross between high farce and a comedy of manners, the play is set in an English country house in the 1920s, and deals with the four eccentric members of the Bliss family and their outlandish b...
.

Uses

The fescues contain some species which are important grasses for both lawn
Lawn

A lawn is an area of recreational or amenity land planted with Poaceae, and sometimes clover and other plants, which are maintained at a low, even height....
s (particularly the fine-leaved species, highly valued for bowling green
Bowling Green

Bowling Green may refer to:*Bowling Green State University*Bowling green, the lawn used for playing the game of Bowls...
s) and as pasture
Pasture

Pasture is land with herbaceous vegetation cover used for grazing of ungulate livestock as part of a farm or ranch. Prior to the advent of factory farming, pasture was the primary source of food for grazing animals such as cattle and horses....
 and hay
Hay

Hay is a generic term for Poaceae or legumes that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing animals like cattle, horses, domestic goat, and sheep....
 for livestock
Livestock

Livestock is the term used to refer to a domesticated animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce things such as food or fibre, or for its labour....
, being a highly nutritious stock feed. They are also used in soil
Soil

Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
 erosion
Erosion

For morphological image processing operations, see Erosion 'For use of in dermatopathology, see Erosion Erosion is the removal of solids in the natural environment....
 control programs, most notably tall fescue, one cultivar of which, Kentucky 31 (Festuca arundinacea
Festuca arundinacea

Festuca arundinacea is a species of fescue known by the common name tall fescue. It is a cool season perennial C3 carbon fixation grass species native to Europe....
), was used in land reclamation during the dust bowl
Dust Bowl

The Dust Bowl or the Dirty Thirties was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agriculture damage to United States and Canada prairie lands from 1930 to 1936 ....
 period in the 1930s in the US.

Fescue is sometimes used as feed for horse
Horse

The horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolution of the horse over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, odd-toed ungulate animal of today....
s. However, fescue poisoning, which results from a fungus, is a risk for pregnant mares
Mare (horse)

A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae.Most of the time, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger....
. Occurring in the last three months of pregnancy, fescue poisoning increases the risk of spontaneous abortion, stillbirths, retained placenta, absent milk production, and prolonged pregnancy. Incorporating legumes into the fescue can be a way to increase livestock gains and conception rates, even if the fescue is infected.

Selected species

  • Festuca alpina — Alpine Fescue
  • Festuca altissima — Wood Fescue
  • Festuca amethystina — Tufted Fescue
  • Festuca amplissima
  • Festuca arizonica
    Festuca arizonica

    Festuca arizonica, commonly called Arizona fescue, is a grass found in western North America, in the southwest United States and northern Mexico....
     — Arizona Fescue
  • Festuca caesia — Blue Fescue
  • Festuca californica
    Festuca californica

    Festuca californica is a species of Poaceae known by the common name California fescue. It is native to the US states of California and Oregon where it is a member of many plant communities, including chaparral....
     - California Fescue
  • Festuca cinerea
  • Festuca diffusa — Northern Fescue
  • Festuca donax
  • Festuca elmeri
    Festuca elmeri

    Festuca elmeri is a species of Poaceae known by the common names coast fescue and Elmer's fescue. It is native to the US states of California and Oregon, where it often grows in wet, shady areas in coastal counties....
     - Coast Fescue
  • Festuca eskia
  • Festuca gautieri
  • Festuca glacialis
  • Festuca glauca
    Festuca glauca

    Festuca glauca is a plant in the grass family, Poaceae.FAMILY NAME: PoaceaeBOTANICAL NAME: Festuca glaucaCOMMON NAME: Blue Fescue, Blue Mountain Grass, Grey Fescue,...
     — Grey Fescue
  • Festuca heterophylla — Various-leaved Fescue
  • Festuca idahoensis
    Festuca idahoensis

    Festuca idahoensis is a species of Poaceae known by the common names Idaho fescue and blue bunchgrass. It is native to western North America, where it is widespread and common....
     — Idaho Fescue
  • Festuca jubata
  • Festuca juncifolia — Rush-leaved Fescue
  • Festuca mairei — Atlas Fescue
  • Festuca matthewsii — Alpine Fescue Tussock
  • Festuca nigrescens — Alpine Chewing's Fescue
  • Festuca novae-zealandiae — Fescue Tussock
  • Festuca occidentalis
    Festuca occidentalis

    Festuca occidentalis is a species of Poaceae known by the common name western fescue. It is native to much of the northern half of North America and is most widely distributed in the west....
     - Western Fescue
  • Festuca ovina — Sheep's Fescue
    Sheep's Fescue

    Sheep's Fescue or Sheep Fescue is a species of Poaceae. It is a perennial plant sometimes found in acidic moss , for example in the Portlethen Moss, Scotland and mountain pasture, throughout Europe and eastwards across much of Asia; it has also been introduced to eastern North America ....
  • Festuca paniculata — East Alpine Violet Fescue
  • Festuca picturata
  • Festuca pilgeri
  • Festuca pseudodura
  • Festuca punctoria
  • Festuca pyrenaica
  • Festuca quadriflora
  • Festuca richardsonii — Arctic Fescue
  • Festuca rubra
    Festuca rubra

    Festuca rubra is a species of Poaceae known by the common name red fescue. It is found worldwide and can tolerate many habitats and climates; it generally needs full sun to thrive....
     — Red Fescue
  • Festuca rubra ssp. commutata — Chewing's Fescue
    Chewing's Fescue

    Festuca rubra subsp. commutata, commonly known as Chewing's Fescue, is a species of grass. It is a perennial plant very common in lawns throughout Europe....
  • Festuca rupicola
  • Festuca sativa
  • Festuca scabrella - Rough Fescue
    Rough Fescue

    Rough Fescue is a native, perennial bunchgrass found throughout north-western North America. The Canadian province of Alberta is home to the largest area of rough fescue grassland in North America, and hosts the plains , foothills , and northern varieties ....
  • Festuca subulata
    Festuca subulata

    Festuca subulata is a species of Poaceae known by the common names bearded fescue and nodding fescue. It is native to the northwestern quarter of North America, from Alaska to South Dakota to northern California, where it is most often found in moist mountain forests....
     - Bearded Fescue
  • Festuca subulifolia - Crinkleawn Fescue
  • Festuca supina - Tufted Fescue
  • Festuca tenuifolia — Fine-leaved Sheep's Fescue
  • Festuca viridula
    Festuca viridula

    Festuca viridula is a species of Poaceae known by several common names, including green fescue, greenleaf fescue, and mountain bunchgrass....
     - Green Fescue
  • Festuca vivipara — Viviparous Fescue


Subgenus Schedonorus, proposed for inclusion in genus Lolium
  • Festuca arundinacea
    Festuca arundinacea

    Festuca arundinacea is a species of fescue known by the common name tall fescue. It is a cool season perennial C3 carbon fixation grass species native to Europe....
     (syn. Festuca elatior, Lolium arundinaceum) — Tall Fescue
  • Festuca gigantea (Lolium giganteum) — Giant Fescue
  • Festuca mazzettiana (Lolium mazzettianum)
  • Festuca pratensis
    Festuca pratensis

    Festuca pratensis is a species of Poaceae, which is often used an ornamental plant.It is commonly known as meadow fescue....
     (Lolium pratensis) — Meadow Fescue

External links

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