Participant Info

Species

Festuca idahoensis [Festuca ovina] [Festuca ingrata] [Festuca occidentalis var. ingrata]

Family

Poaceae

CommonName

Idaho fescue, blue bunchgrass

Presence

yes

Status

native

EarliestDate

1914

LatestDate

2025

Ecosystem

shrubland, foothill, montane, subalpine, tundra, urban

Geobotanical

Garitas, SSanjuans, Culebras, NCristos

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache

Passes

Cumbres, Wolf Creek

WildlifePreserves

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

YES Rich Haswell: Rio Grande Co, CO Del Norte street side 5 Jan 2025

Comments

Idaho fescue is present in all the Watershed regions except for the Upper and Lower Basins. More prevalent in the west mountains than in the east, Festuca idahoensis is a common perennial and cool-season grass in upland meadows. It provids good forage for deer and livestock, a staple of summer pasturing. It ranges from foothill to alpine, although found most in the montane. In the USA, it is distributed through all Western states to the western edge of the Great Plains. It runs down the Rio Grande drainage only to mid-New Mexico.

Annotation