Festuca aloha

Catalán, Soreng & P.M.Peterson (2009)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Monocots Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Genus: Festuca

Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Perennial, cespitose grasses, 45–70 cm.

Stems: Culms erect, slender (ca. 1 mm diam.).

Roots: Roots fibrous.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Bades of vegetative shoots 22-33 cm x (1- )1.5- 1.7 mm, erect to pendant. Lower surfaces glabrous and smooth, hirsute along protruding ribs adaxially, the hairs up to 0.1 mm long. Margins involute. Veins parallel. Blade with 13-16(-20) larger vascular traces or veins, each with prominent ribs adaxially alternating with smaller ribs on the secondary and tertiary veins. Sheath margins fused for 1-2 mm at base, overlapping more than 1/2 the length below, sparsely villose abaxially when young, becoming glabrous at maturity, purple-brownish at the base, greenish above, becoming fibrous in age at base; auricles absent; colla Stipules absent.

Flowers: Panicles 8-11 x 2.5-4 cm, erect, axis and peduncle smooth; loosely contracted with 34-66 spikelets, spikelets mostly at branch tips; panicle branches 2(3) per node, basal branches 4-6 cm and ca. 1/2 the length of panicle, angled, erect or ascending, smooth proximally to scabrous, angled dis tally. Spikelets 8.2-13 mm x 3.5-6.0 mm, 4-6-flowered, broadly lanceolate, pale green, sometimes tinged with purple; pedicels (1-)1.5-3.5(-5) mm long; rachilla internodes 0.8-1.2 mm long, scabrous; glumes lanceolate, green, margins very narrowly scarious (<0.5 mm), apex acute; lower glumes (3.6-)3.9-4.2(-4.5) mm long, 1-veined; upper glumes 5.2-5.5(-6.0) mm long, 3-veined. Lemmas 5.8-8.0 mm long, 5-veined, glabrous below, scabrous near the apex, green or tinged with purple at the apex, mucronate to awned, the mucro or awn 0.5-1.1 mm long, scabrous; Paleas longer or shorter than lemma, scabrous on and between keels. Stamens 3, anthers 3.1-4.2 mm long. Ovary superior, densely hairy on upper 1/3.

Fruit: Fruit a caryopsis

Ploidy:

Habitat:

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Statewide Status

Endemic

Island Status

Kaua'i Endemic

Dispersal Agents


Pollinators

Bibliography

Name Published In: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 3: 51 (2009)

Other References

Catalán et al. 2009:51 (SPNOV/K, DESCR, KEY)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Locality Habitat Basis of Record Description Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Festuca aloha Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Acacia koa - Metrosideros polymorpha - Dicranopteris linearis montane mesic 10% open, 8-10 m tall canopy, 40% Acacia koa, 20% Metrosideros polymorpha, 20% tall Psychotria mariniana with 5-7 m tall understory canopy of Planchonella sandwicensis, Bobea brevipes merging into up Preserved_Specimen clumping grass, with old inflorescence, with Panicum lineale, Eragrostis variabilis, Cyperus phleoides, Luzula hawaiiensis, Carex meyenii Wood, K.R. 15119 Kauai BISH 2012-07-25
2 Festuca aloha Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Metrosideros-Acacia mixed mesic forest w/ Alphitonia ponderosa, Diospyros sandwicensis Planchonella sandwicensis, Santalum pyrularium, Kadua affinis, Coprosma waimeae, Ilex anomala, Cheirodendron trigynum, Claoxylon sandwicensis, Scaevola Preserved_Specimen Grass, perennial, cespitose on exposed basalt cliff and near base w/ old spiklets, ca. 30 plants. Wood, K.R. 18262 Kauai BISH 2019-07-24
3 Festuca aloha Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Metrosideros-Diospyros lowland mesic forest assoc plants...Flueggea, Pteralyxia, Exocarpos, Kokia, Neraudia, Santalum, Charpentiera, Pritchardia, Nototrichium sp. nov., Chamaesyce sp. nov., Hedyotis sp. nov., Dubautia sp. nov., Melicope, Festuca sp. ?, Bidens, Lipochaeta, Panicum, growing on knife-ridge sides & top. Preserved_Specimen Vigorous & attractive in flower. Wood, K.R. 1761 Kauai BISH 1992-04-01
4 Festuca aloha Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details 20 large clumps 100 ft. above stream on bluff; see growing with Wilkesia gymnoxiphium, Lepidium serra. Metrosideros-Acacia montane mesic forests with Nestegis, Tetraplasandra, Hedyotis, Ilex, Melicope, Remya, Labordia. Major threats: Hedychium gardnerianum, Rubus argutus, Passiflora mollissima. Preserved_Specimen Leaves broader than other collections of Festuca made on mesic cliffs of Kaua'i and inflorescence larger. In fruit and flower. Wood, K.R. 3193 Kauai BISH 1994-05-18
5 Festuca aloha Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Metrosideros - Acacia montane mesic forest. With Alphitonia, Pouteria, Xylosma hawaiiensis, Antidesma, Diospyros sandwicensis, Myrsine lanaiensis, Dodonaea, Wikstroemia furcata, Leptecophylla tameiameiae, Kadua affinis, Melicope ovata, M. barbige. Preserved_Specimen Grass, terrestrial, in flower and seed, spiklets green-brown or with purple tinge, in general area with Ctenitis squamigera, Poa mannii, Eragrostis variabilis, Panicum lineale. Wood, K.R. 15495 Kauai BISH 2013-05-02
6 Festuca aloha Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Coastal cliff mixed shrubland on weather lava wall above Dry Leucaena dominant shrubland; with Myoporum, Schiedea apokremnos, Leucaena, Melia, Stachytarpheta, Bidens, Lipochaeta connata, Santalum, Artemisia australis, Nototrichium sandwicense, Bidens, Pluchea, Lantana, Adiantum, Euporbia ce Preserved_Specimen Robust plant 6 feet tall; 30 cuttings and about 3000 seed. LC#090437. Tangalin, N. 2051 Kauai BISH 2009-06-14
7 Festuca aloha Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Metrosideors-Acacia mixed montane mesic forest w/ Alphitonia, Pouterria, Xylosma hawaiinesis, Antidesma Diospyros sandwicensis, Myrsin lanaiensis, Dodoneae, Wikstroemia furcata, Leptecophyllia tameiameiae, Kadua affinis, Melicope ovata, M. barbige Preserved_Specimen Grass, tufted on open exposed walls of valley, w/ Panicum lineale, older infruitescence, ca 50 plants. Wood, K.R. 17828 Kauai BISH 2018-05-23
8 Festuca aloha Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Metrosideros-Acacia montane mesic forest. W/ Alphitonia, Pouteria, Xylosma hawaiiensis, Antidesma, Diospyros sandwicensis, Myrsine lanaiensis, Dodonaea, Wikstroemia furcata, Leptecophylla tameiameiae, Kadua affinis, Melicope ovata, M. barbige Preserved_Specimen grass, on open exposed steem walls of valley, with Melicope pallida, seeds collected Wood, K.R. 14641 Kauai BISH 2011-05-05