Lolium arundinaceum subsp. arundinaceum
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
tall fescue
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Grasses
Flower colours
Green
Detailed description
Tall, erect, strongly tufted, coarse, perennial grass. Leaves 100–600 × 3–12 mm, flat, mod ribbed, harsh, yellow-green, hairless except at leaf base, margins rough, glossy beneath; rolled when emerging. Leaf-base stout, encircles stem with collar, hairy. Sheath-base occ brownish-purple. Ligule up to 2 mm long, membranous, firm, greenish. Seedhead an open panicle, 5–25 cm long; seeds large, clustered in coarse spikelets 10–20 mm long.
Similar taxa
Tall, erect, fairly harsh, perennial grass. Auricle with very short bristly hairs, that continue along the margins at the base of the leaf blade. Otherwise the plant is glabrous. Hybrids are produced with both Lolium perenne and L. multiflorum. Lolium species are lush grasses and do not have hairy auricles.
Habitat
Terrestrial.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Poaceae
Synonyms
Schedonorus phoenix (Scop.) Holub [1998], Festuca arundinacea Schreb., Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort.
Ecology
Year naturalised
1871
Origin
Europe
Reason for introduction
Agricultural
Life cycle
Perennial.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FAC: Facultative
Commonly occurs as either a hydrophyte or non-hydrophyte (non-wetlands).
Other information
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.
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.
SCHARU