Festuca luciarum

Detailed description

Short, tufted to tall stoloniferous grass; innovations extravaginal; long shoots bearing inflorescences of small panicles of few broad dark violet suffused usually patent spikelets on short prostrate to ascending culms above the shorter leaves. Leaf-sheath 20–80 mm, glabrous, striate, much wider than leaf-blade, brown and fibrous below, margins membranous; apical auricles 0.3–0.4 mm, rounded, ciliate. Ligule as for auricles. Leaf-blade 30–120 x 0.6–1.0 mm diameter; ± hexagonal, ribs evident or folded, glabrous, glaucous, upper surface and on margins covered in short antrorse hairs. Culm 40–500 mm, shoots swollen, erect or erect-ascending, usually > leaf-blades; nodes visible, internodes glabrous. Panicle 20–100 mm, with 4–7 nodes, 5–20 spikelets; branches erect or weakly spreading, usually solitary, basal branch 20–50 mm of 1–4 spikelets, uppermost 4–5 spikelets solitary on short pedicels; rachis mostly glabrous and frequently tortuous below, branches and pedicels usually prickle-toothed. Spikelets 8–12 x 4–7 mm, of 4–10 florets, glaucous, dull violet suffused, imbricate, becoming evidently patent at anthesis and up to 10 mm wide. Glumes unequal, keeled, narrowing to become acute or acuminate, smooth but occasionally prickle-toothed on keels, apex with long cilia, margins shortly or conspicuously long ciliate; lower 2.6–3-4 mm, l-nerved, upper 3–6 mm, 3-nerved, nerves sometimes evident. Lemma 5–7 mm, lobes 0 or very short, 5-nerved, slightly keeled above, inrolled, ± prickle-toothed throughout or short stiff hairy and prickle-toothed; awn 0–1 mm; apex of lowest lemma usually awnless and often long (0.3–0.5 mm) ciliate. Palea 5.5–7.0 mm, usually > lemma, apex deeply (0.3–1.0 mm) bifid, keels toothed in upper 1/3 occasionally more, interkeel hairs above, margins of flanks ciliate. Callus 0.2–0.3 mm, shortly stiffly bearded throughout; articulation oblique. Rachilla 0.75–1.50 mm, with short prickle-teeth or stiff hairs. Lodicules 1.0–1.4 mm, greater than or equal to ovary, lobed, glabrous. Anthers 2.0–3.5 mm. Ovary 1 mm, turbinate, hispid hairs at apex or glabrous; stigma-styles 1.75-3.00 mm. Seed 3 mm.