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GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora
Descriptions
W.D. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson
© Copyright The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Festuca cratericola
HABIT Perennial; caespitose; clumped densely. Butt sheaths light brown; persistent and investing base of culm; with fibrous dead sheaths. Basal innovations intravaginal. Culms 10–15 cm long. Culm-internodes smooth; distally glabrous. Leaf-sheaths tubular for much of their length; with 1 of their length closed. Leaf-sheath oral hairs ciliate. Leaf-sheath auricles erect. Ligule a ciliolate membrane; 0.2 mm long; scaberulous on abaxial surface. Leaf-blades filiform; conduplicate; angular in section; 0.25–0.5 mm wide; glaucous. Leaf-blade venation comprising 5 vascular bundles; with 1 inner ridges; with 7 subepidermal sclerenchyma strands; with subepidermal sclerenchyma strands similar in size; with subepidermal sclerenchyma free from veins; without layer of subepidermal sclerenchyma masking vein striation. Leaf-blade surface smooth; puberulous; hairy adaxially. Leaf-blade apex obtuse, or abruptly acute.
INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle. Peduncle smooth.
Panicle open; oblong; dense; 3–4 cm long. Panicle branches scabrous.
Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled.
FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 3–4 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets elliptic, or oblong; laterally compressed; 7–7.3 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
GLUMES Glumes persistent; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume lanceolate; chartaceous; without keels; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate, or oblong; 4–4.6 mm long; chartaceous; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume apex acuminate.
FLORETS Fertile lemma lanceolate; 4.5–5.2 mm long; chartaceous; mid-green and purple; suffused with last colour; without keel; 5 -veined. Lemma surface scabrous. Lemma apex acute; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn 1.5–2 mm long overall. Palea 1 length of lemma; 2 -veined. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
FLOWER Anthers 3; 2.3–2.5 mm long. Ovary glabrous.
FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; glabrous. Hilum linear.
DISTRIBUTION Asia-temperate: western Asia.
NOTES Poeae. Fl Turk 1997.
Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.
