Festuca coxii
Common name
Cox’s fescue
Synonyms
Agropyrum coxii Petrie
Family
Poaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Native
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Structural class
Grasses
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
FESCOX
Chromosome number
2n = 56
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2017 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: By Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, John W. Barkla, Shannel P. Courtney, Paul D. Champion, Leon R. Perrie, Sarah M. Beadel, Kerry A. Ford, Ilse Breitwieser, Ines Schönberger, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Peter B. Heenan and Kate Ladley.
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: IE, RR
Previous conservation statuses
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: IE
2004 | Range Restricted
Distribution
Endemic. Chatham Islands only where it has been recorded from the islands, islets and rock stacks except the Pyramid and Western Reef
Habitat
Strictly coastal where it grow son rock ledges, cliff faces, rock stacks, peaty turf, amongst petrel burrows and on exposed, wind blasted ridge lines
Features
Glaucous to dark green tufted tussock. Branching intravaginal, sometimes with internodes elongating below and rooting at nodes; inflorescence short, compact, usually shorter than tall leaf-blades, nodding, with numerous long awned abundantly prickle-toothed florets borne on shortly pedicelled spikelets. Leaf-sheath 80-200 mm long, thin, pale much broader than leaf-blades, minutely retrorsely or antrorsely hairy between nerves becoming glabrous above, margins dark brown membranous below; apical auricles 0-0.5 mm, ciliate. Collar conspicuously thickened and curved. Ligule 0.3-0.5 mm, ciliate. Leaf-blade 110-400 × 0.5-0.9 mm, glaucous to dark green, softly sharp-pointed, terete to somewhat compressed, glabrous, upper surface and margin bearing numerous short (0.15 mm) antrorse or erect prickle-teeth, these diminishing in size above. Culm 250-450 mm, almost always included by leaf-blades; nodes 2-3 dark, glabrous, sometimes ± geniculate; internodes glabrous or densely antrorsely short hairy sometimes becoming less so below. Panicle 60-150 mm, narrow, compact, nodding, with 8-11 nodes of 12-18 close set, usually overlapping, spikelets; branches short, erect-appressed, basal branch 10-20 mm of 3-5 spikelets, not naked below, uppermost 6-10 spikelets solitary on short pedicels; rachis branches and pedicels prickle-toothed on margins, and frequently also densely antrorsely short hairy becoming less so above, or ± glabrous. Spikelets 15-30 × 5-6 mm, of 5-7 florets. Glumes unequal, green centrally, broad, narrowing, becoming awned, prominently keeled, glabrous except for prickle-teeth on keel above and below awn, margin hyaline sometimes short hairy and finely ciliate; usually equating with lowermost lemma, twice as long as nearest proximate internodes or in upper panicle twice proximate internodes of solitary spikelets; lower 4-10 mm, 1-nerved, upper 6-12 mm, 3-nerved. Lemma 6-10 mm, lobes 0 or minute, 5-nerved, slightly keeled, abundantly prickle-toothed throughout, longer teeth and/or hairs below, and on keel and at margins below; awn 6-13 mm, usually < lemma, apex deeply bifid, keels toothed to base, interkeel hairs above, margins of flanks shortly toothed; sometimes folded. Callus 0.3-0.6 mm, long hairy on upper margin, shorter centrally; articulation acute. Rachilla 1.0-1.6 mm, densely antrorsely long hairy. Anthers 3.7-4.2 mm. orange. Ovary 1.0-1.4 mm, triangular turbinate, apex with narrow rim enclosing base of styles and central tuft of hispid hairs (0.2 mm long); stigma-styles 2.5-3.0 mm. Seed 3.7-4.6 mm long. Flowers opening (not cleistogamous).
Similar taxa
Similar to F. contracta Kirk from which it differs by its more widely spreading, rather than erect growth habit, elongate rather than flabellate intravaginal branching; awns 6-13 mm and » than lemma, rather than 1.5-2.5 mm and
Flowering
November - February
Flower colours
Orange
Fruiting
January - April
Life cycle
Florets are dispersed by wind, water and attachment (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easy from fresh seed and division of whole plants. Often short-lived and dislikes humidity
Threats
Widespread and common in sites inaccessible to stock. Not seriously threatened though in common with the majority of Chatham Islands endemics its range has contracted following human settlement.
Etymology
festuca: From the Latin festuca ‘stem’ or ‘blade of grass’
Where To Buy
Not commercially available.
Attribution
Description modified from Edgar and Connor (2000)
References and further reading
Edgar, E.; Connor, H.E. 2000: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. V. Grasses. Christchurch, Manaaki Whenua Press. 650 pp.
Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285-309