Festuca arundinacea plant SC3
Introduced yearlong-green perennial, erect, tussock-forming grass to 1.2 m tall.
Leaves are mostly 5-10 mm wide, strongly ribbed above and glossy below; auricles are reduced to short hairs along the margins of the blade base. Flowerheads are loose to spreading panicles to 43 cm long. Spikelets are 10-17 mm long, 4-8-flowered. Lemmas are awnless or have a short awn to 2.5 mm long. Flowers in spring to late summer. A native of Europe, it is widely sown in lawns and pastures in the south of the region. Also found along roadsides and drains. There are several varieties including ones with no endophytes (symbiotic fungi), wild endophytes and ones with novel endophytes selected to reduce stock impact. Endophytes benefit the plant, but can cause problems in stock, including lameness. Waterlogging tolerant, productive from spring to autumn and nutritious (particularly in spring and early summer). Grows slowly in winter in the south. Outcompeted by warm-season grasses in the north.
Prone to overgrazing, avoid set stocking and provide rests from grazing particularly with sheep. Grazing strategy will be slightly different depending on whether a summer active or summer dormant variety is grown.
Festuca arundinacea plant SC3
Introduced yearlong-green perennial, erect, tussock-forming grass to 1.2 m tall.
Leaves are mostly 5-10 mm wide, strongly ribbed above and glossy below; auricles are reduced to short hairs along the margins of the blade base. Flowerheads are loose to spreading panicles to 43 cm long. Spikelets are 10-17 mm long, 4-8-flowered. Lemmas are awnless or have a short awn to 2.5 mm long. Flowers in spring to late summer. A native of Europe, it is widely sown in lawns and pastures in the south of the region. Also found along roadsides and drains. There are several varieties including ones with no endophytes (symbiotic fungi), wild endophytes and ones with novel endophytes selected to reduce stock impact. Endophytes benefit the plant, but can cause problems in stock, including lameness. Waterlogging tolerant, productive from spring to autumn and nutritious (particularly in spring and early summer). Grows slowly in winter in the south. Outcompeted by warm-season grasses in the north.
Prone to overgrazing, avoid set stocking and provide rests from grazing particularly with sheep. Grazing strategy will be slightly different depending on whether a summer active or summer dormant variety is grown.