Participant Info

Species

Festuca rubra [Festuca ovina subsp. rubra] [Festuca arenaria] etc.

Family

Poaceae

CommonName

red fescue

Presence

yes

Status

native

EarliestDate

1968

LatestDate

2004

Ecosystem

montane, subalpine, ruderal

Geobotanical

SSawatch, SSanjuans

Counties

Conejos, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache

Passes

Spring Creek, Wolf Creek

WildlifePreserves

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

Comments

NEED IN SITU PHOTOS. In the Watershed red fescue has been vouchered about a dozen times, all from the west-side mountains. The number is problematic since Festuca rubra is difficult to distinguish from two other Watershed fescues, F. brachyphylla and F. earlei. Native occurrences are found in high-elevation slopes and forest openings. F. rubra, perennial and cool-season, sometimes is planted in lawns and pastures and shows up in seed mixes. In the USA the species is native to all Western and New England states and adventitious in all other states except in the Great Plains. It follows the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico, but is only adventitious farther down stream in the Big Bend region of Texas.

Annotation