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Festuca rubra

Red Fescue

At a Glance: Perennial grass with thread-like leaves forming small patches.

Height: Can grow up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall.
Growth Form: Graminoid.
Stems: Slowly creeping.
Leaves: Super slender leaves less than 1/8 inch wide, practically thread like, folded-inrolled, hairless, no auricles; ligules short, less than 0.5 mm long; color: bluish-green.
Flowers: Violet-colored panicles on purple stems; each spikelet 3/8-1/2" long.
Flowering Period: June.


Photo © 2004, Starflower Foundation

Sun/Shade Tolerance	Hydrology	Elevation Range
full sun > 80% mostly sunny 60%-80% partial sun and shade 40%- 60% mostly shady 60%-80% full shade > 80%	(data not available) Wetland Indicator Status: FACU (facultative upland)	Below 2500 meters. low elevation mid elevation sub-alpine high elevation

Soil Preferences
Will withstand inundation if soil is well drained.
sandy soils gravelly soils clay soils muddy soils peaty soils	well drained soils shallow soils deep soils acidic soils basic soils	humic soils nutrient rich soils nutrient poor soils mineral soils organic soils

Habitat Preferences
Aquatic and Wetland: Ponds or lakes Shallow pools Sloughs Swales or wet ditches Seasonally inundated areas Marshes or swamps Aquatic bed wetlands Emergent wetlands Scrub-shrub wetlands Forested wetlands Bogs, fens Seeps, springs Shorelines and Riparian: Lake shores Bog margins Streams or rivers Stream or river banks Riparian corridors River bars Floodplains Bottomlands Alluvial areas	Saltwater Areas: In or near saltwater Mud flats Tidal areas Estuaries Saltmarshes Brackish water Seashores Coastal dunes or beaches Rocky or Gravelly Areas: Coastal bluffs Cliffs Rocky slopes Outcrops Crevices Glacial outwash Gullies Slide areas Sub-alpine and Alpine: Heaths Snow beds Tundra Avalanche tracks	Forests and Thickets: Forests and woods Open forests Coniferous forests Old growth forests Deciduous forests Mixed forests Nurse logs Forest edges, openings, or clearings Thickets Meadows and Fields: Pastures or fields Meadows or grassy areas Mossy areas Disturbed Areas: Roadsides Trailsides Logged sites Burned areas Disturbed sites

Wildlife Value

(data not available)

Ethnobotanical Uses and Other Facts

Landscape Uses: Many cultivars of red fescue have been developed for horticultural and agricultural purposes, and they are widely used in lawns, as forage and in grass-seeding mixtures for erosion control.
Name Info: So-called because of the reddish bases of the stems and the often reddish spikelets.

Suggested References

Cooke, S.S. A Field Guide to the Common Wetland Plants of Western Washington and Northwetern Oregon. Seattle Audubon Society and Washington Native Plant Society. Page 332.
Hickman, J.C., ed. 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press. Page 1260.
Hitchcock, C.L., A. Cronquist. 1973. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press. Page 642.
Jacobson A.L. 2001. Wild Plants of Greater Seattle. Published by author. Page 368.
Pojar, J., A. Mackinnon. 1994. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Lone Pine Publishing. Page 376.

The landscaping and restoration information provided on this page is taken from Starflower Foundation Image Herbarium. All photographs © Starflower Foundation unless otherwise noted.