Relatives
Festuca drymeja Mert et Koch. - forest fescue, mountain fescue.
Taxonomic position.
Family Poaceae Barnhart., genus Festuca L.Synonyms.
Festuca montana Bieb.Biology and morphology.
Perennial grass, 70-150 cm tall, with long rhizomes. Leaf blades have ribs and scabrous edges and are 1.2 cm in width. Sheathes on lower sections of stems are leafless, squamiliform. Panicle-like inflorescence is up to 20 cm long. Spikelets are 0.7 cm long; there are 4-6 flowers per spikelet. Lemma is 0.5 cm long, glabrous. Blossoms in June; seeds ripen in July. Cross-pollinated by wind. 2n = 14, 42.Distribution.
Occurs throughout the western, mountainous part of the Ukraine and the Caucasus.Ecology.
Occurs in forests and mountain meadows as high as the middle mountain level.Utilization and economic value.
Good forage and pasture species for mountainous regions. Can be used for hay, haylage. Good palatability and nutrition. Becomes rough after blossoming, so it is necessary to mow in the heading stage. Improves soil structure and fertilization. Used for erosion control.Literature cited:
Brezhnev D.D., Korovina O.N. 1980. Wild relatives of the cultivated plants of flora of the USSR. L.: Kolos, 376 pp. (in Russian).Fedorov A.A., ed. 1974. Flora of the European part of the USSR. Vol. 1. L.: Nauka, 404 pp. (in Russian).
Grossheim A.A. 1939. Flora of Caucasus. Vol. 2. Baku: AzFAN, pp. 587. (in Russian).
Rodjevitz P.U., Schischkin V.K., eds. 1937. Flora of the USSR. Vol. 2. M.-L.: AN USSR, 778 pp. (in Russian).
Shelyag-Sosonko Y.P., ed. 1977. Grasses of Ukraine. Kiev: Naukova Dumka, 518 pp. (in Russian).
Tzvelev N.N. 1976. Poaceae USSR. L.: Nauka, 788 pp. (in Russian).