Festuca edlundiae
Species of flowering plant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Festuca edlundiae, commonly known as Edlund's fescue, is a native, perennial, tufted grass of the High Arctic. It occurs in Alaska, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, northern Greenland, far eastern Arctic Russia, and Svalbard.[1] The specific epithet honours Canadian botanist Sylvia Edlund. The species was first formally described in 1995 by Susan Aiken, Laurie Consaul, and Leonard Lefkovitch.[2]
| Festuca edlundiae | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Pooideae |
| Genus: | Festuca |
| Species: | F. edlundiae |
| Binomial name | |
| Festuca edlundiae S.G.Aiken, Consaul & Lefk. | |
Description
Festuca edlundiae is closely related to Festuca brachyphylla and resembles boreal fescue (Festuca hyperborea). It differs in having longer flag-leaf blades (5 mm or more) and larger spikelets. Plants form dense clumps and lack rhizomes.[3]
Habitat
F. edlundiae grows in High Arctic environments, typically on fine-grained or calcareous soils. It is well adapted to cold, short-season conditions and occurs in tundra habitats where few grasses can survive.