Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Magnoliophyta -- flowering plants

Class: Liliopsida -- Monocotyledons

Order: Cyperales

Family: Poaceae (Graminae) -- Grass

Common Name: Idaho fescue

Species Code: FEID

Origin: Native to mesic grasslands and open forest over much of temperate western North America.

Rare: no

Form: grass, perennial, caespitose, glabrous to scabrous, 40-100 cm tall.

Duration: perennial

Longevity: long

Habitat Type: prairie, dry forest

Wetland Indicator Status: FACU

Leaves: mostly basal; sheaths glabrous to scaberulous; auricles lacking, ligules 0.3-0.6 mm long, ciliate, highest on the sides; blades slender, folded-involute, up to 25 cm long, smooth to scaberulous, sometimes glaucous.

Mature height: 16-40 inches

Flowers: borne in a narrow panicle, branches ascending to erect; spikelets 4-8 flowered; glumes shorter than the lemma, subequal, the first lanceolate, 2.5-5 mm long, 1-nerved, the second glume oblong-lanceolate, 4-6.5 mm long, 3 nerved; lemmas 6-10 mm long, rounded, glabrous or scaberulous, with a straight awn 1-6 mm long.

Flower color: inconspicious

Anthesis: early June

Fruit: caryopsis.

Characteristics:
Reproduces sexually by seed.
F. ovina var. ingrata in Piper & Beattie (1914).
St. John (1963) recognized the glaucous phase of F. idahoensis with scabrous leaves as a separate species, F. ingrata.
The coastal F. roemeri is sometimes considered a subspecies of F. idahoensis, in which case the inland phase becomes F. idahoensis ssp. idahoensis.
450,000-520,000 seeds/lb (Hassell et al 1996).
450,000 seeds/lb (USDA NRCS PLANTS Database 2009).
2n=28.
Wind pollinated.
Flowers are perfect.
Fruit is a caryopsis.
Excellent forage for livestock and wildlife and good cover for small mammals.
Many grasses are hosts for the larva of the common wood nymph (Cercyonis pegala) and the common ringlet (Coenonympha californica) butterflies (Pocewicz 2005).

Sun requirement: full

Soil moisture: mesic

Precipitation: 12-20 inches (USDA NRCS PLANTS Database 2009).

Fire: Plants will survive cooler fires of spring and autumn, hot summer fires cause higher mortality. Regenerates from seed and undamaged plants (Patterson et al 1985, Zouhar 2000).

Sowing time: spring

Transplant time: spring

Stratification: none

Seed yield: medium

Seed harvest: easy

Seed first harvest: second season

Seed cleaning: easy

Planting duration: long

Seed insect problem: none noted

Seed shatter: medium

Seed size: small

Seed harvest date: July

Herbaria: Specimen data and digital resources from The Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria

Key words: upland native grass

Propagation:
5 protocols in the Native Plant Network
Glacier National Park, MT
Pullman WA Plant Materials Center
Bridger MT Plant Materials Center
Bridger MT Plant Materials Center
University of Kentucky

Other Propagation Information:
Fresh seed may have a short after-ripening requirement, older seed germinates readily without pretreatment.
6 month after-ripening needed for maximum germination (Goodwin et al 1995).
Seed from an alpine source in the Olympic Mountains needs 1 month after-ripening (Kaye et al 1997).
Best germination occurs from 10-25 degrees C. Ecotypes from mesic areas are not able to germinate as well under moisture stress as those from xeric environments (Doescher et al 1985).
Optimum germination in the laboratory at 15/20 degrees C in dark (Young et al 1981).
Exposure of seeds to smoke increases growth of plants (Blank & Young 1998).

Notes:
Vegetative proliferation (production of plantlets instead of seed in the inflorescence) has been observed in local ecotypes of Festuca idahoensis on rare occasions. Exhibition of this characteristic is apparently related to seasonal variation in weather patterns. Vegetative proliferation was especially noticeable on the Palouse in 2004. The same plants observed in 2005, 2006 and 2007 failed to produce plantlets. An unusual extended warm and dry period for most of March 2004, coupled with a very wet and cool period in the second half of May, might have contributed to the expression of this characteristic.
A more frequent incidence of vegetative proliferation has been noted in areas east of the Rocky Mountains where summer rainfall patterns are prevalent.

References:
Blank, Robert R., and James A Young. 1998. Heated Substrate and Smoke: Influence on Seed Emergence and Plant Growth. Journal of Range Management 51:577-583.

Britton, C.M., R.G. Clark, and F.A. Sneva. 1983. Effects of Soil Moisture on Burned and Clipped Idaho fescue. Journal of Range Management 39:708-710.

Doescher, Paul, Richard Miller and Alma Winward. 1985. Effects of Moisture and Temperature on Germination of Idaho Fescue. Journal of Range Management. 38:317-320.

Ewing, Kern. 2002. Effects of Initial Site Treatments on Early Growth and Three-Year Survival of Idaho Fescue. Restoration Ecology 10(2): 282-288.

Goodwin, Jay R., Paul S. Doescher, Lee E. Eddleman, and Donald B. Zobel. 1999. Persistence of Idaho Fescue on Degraded Sagebrush Steppe. Journal of Range Management 52:187-198.

Goodwin, Jay R., Paul S. Doescher, and Lee Eddleman. 1996. Germination of Idaho Fescue and Cheatgrass Seeds in Coexisting Populations. Northwest Science 70:230-241.

Goodwin, J.R., P.S. Doescher, and L.E. Eddleman. 1995. After-ripening in Festuca idahoensis Seeds: Adaptive Dormancy and Implications for Restoration. Restoration Ecology 3:137-142.

Hassell, Wendell, W. Rocky Beavers, Steve Ouellette, and Thomas Mitchell. 1996. Seeding Rate Statistics for Native and Introduced Species. US Department of Interior and US Department of Agriculture, NRCS. Denver, CO.

Kaye, T.N. 1997. Seed Dormancy in High Elevation Plants: Implications for Ecology and Restoration. In: Kaye, T.N., A. Liston, R.M. Love, D. Luoma, R.J. Meinke, and M.V. Wilson [editors]. Conservation and Management of Native Plants and Fungi. Native Plant Society of Oregon, Corvallis, Oregon.

Patterson, Patricia A, Kenneth E. Neiman, and Jonalea R. Tonn. 1985. Field Guide to Forest Plants of Northern Idaho. USDA Forest Service Intermountain Research Station. General Technical Report INT-180. Ogden, Utah.

Piper, C.V., and R.K. Beattie. 1914. The Flora of Southeastern Washington and Adjacent Idaho. Lancaster, PA: Press of the New Era Printing Company. 296 pp.

Pocewicz, Amy. 2005. Host Plants of Palouse Butterfly Species. 2 page handout to accompany the April 2005 presentation to the Palouse Prairie Foundation.

St. John, Harold. 1963. Flora of Southeastern Washington and of Adjacent Idaho. 3rd edition. Outdoor Pictures. Escondido, CA.

USDA NRCS. 2009. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 7 September 2009). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Young, J.A., R.A. Evans, R.E. Eckert, Jr., and R.D. Ensign. 1981. Germination Temperature Profiles for Idaho and Sheep Fescue and Canby Bluegrass. Agronomy Journal 73:716-720.

Zouhar, Kristin L. 2000. Festuca idahoensis. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ [2008, April 11].

Links:
Plant Profile from the USDA PLANTS Database
Species account from the Fire Effects Information System
Species description from Grass Manual on the Web
Species information from the University of Washington Herbarium
Plant Guide from the USDA PLANTS Database