Key to Wisconsin Festuca

Authors: Robert W. Freckmann, John G. Zaborsky, Emmet J. Judziewicz

• 1a.Plants annual; anther one (rarely three) 2

• 1b.Plants perennials; anthers three 3

• 2a.Lower glume less than half the length of the upper glume F. myuros

• 2b.Lower glume more than half the length of the upper glume F. octoflora

• 3a.Leaf blades flat, 3–8 mm wide; lemmas awnless or with awns less than 1 mm long 4

• 3b.Leaf blades involute, 1–3 mm wide; lemmas with awns 1–10 mm long 5

• 4a. Spikelets on the lower inflorescence branches clustered, overlapping each other by up to ½ their length; young spikelets clavate; upper glume almost as long as or longer than the first lemma F. paradoxa

• 4b.Spikelets on the lower inflorescence branches widely separated, sometimes overlapping slightly; young spikelets lanceolate; upper glume usually shorter than the first lemma F. subverticillata

• 5a. Lemma margins thin and membranous; awns 3–10 mm long; summit of the ovary pubescent; mature panicle open and lax F. occidentalis

• 5b.Lemma margins firm; awns less than 3 mm long; summit of the ovary glabrous; mature panicle rather narrow, crowded, the branches strongly ascending 6

• 6a. Immature leaf sheaths closed, the mature ones dark reddish brown basally, shredding into fibers; basal culms strongly curved or bent at the base F. rubra

• 6b. Immature leaf sheaths open, the mature ones pale brown, not becoming fibrous; basal culms erect 7

• 7a.Anthers (1.8–) 2–3 mm long F. trachyphylla

• 7b.Anthers 1–1.6 (–1.8) mm long F. saximontana