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Descriptions

W.D. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson

© Copyright The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Festuca polita

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Butt sheaths pubescent; persistent and investing base of culm; with compacted dead sheaths. Basal innovations intravaginal. Culms erect; 14–52 cm long. Leaf-sheaths tubular for much of their length; with 0.25–0.33 of their length closed; with flat margins. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 0.5 mm long. Leaf-blades straight, or curved; aciculate; conduplicate; 0.4–1.1 mm wide; coriaceous; stiff; pruinose. Leaf-blade venation comprising 7 vascular bundles; with 3–5 subepidermal sclerenchyma strands; with continuous uniform subepidermal sclerenchyma layer on the underside. Leaf-blade surface glabrous. Leaf-blade apex obtuse; muticous, or pungent; hardened.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle. Peduncle antrorsely scabrous above.

Panicle open; lanceolate; dense; 3.5–9.5 cm long. Panicle branches pubescent.

Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels tip widened.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 4–7 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets elliptic, or oblong; laterally compressed; 7.5–9.7 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.

GLUMES Glumes persistent; dissimilar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume lanceolate; 0.7–0.8 length of upper glume; chartaceous; without keels; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate, or ovate; 5.5–6.1 mm long; 0.9–1 length of adjacent fertile lemma; chartaceous; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume apex acuminate.

FLORETS Fertile lemma lanceolate, or oblong; 5.4–7.5 mm long; chartaceous; glaucous and purple; suffused with last colour; without keel; 5 -veined. Lemma surface glabrous, or puberulous; hairy above. Lemma apex acuminate; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn 2–7 mm long overall; 0.33–19 length of lemma. Palea 1 length of lemma; 2 -veined. Palea keels scaberulous. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

FLOWER Lodicules 2. Anthers 3. Ovary glabrous.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp. Hilum linear.

DISTRIBUTION Europe: southeastern. Asia-temperate: Caucasus and western Asia.

NOTES Poeae. Fl Turk 1993.

Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.