Festuca
Genus in the grass family Poaceae / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Festuca?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Festuca (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of 10–200 cm (4–79 in) and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on every continent except Antarctica.[2] The genus is closely related to ryegrass (Lolium), and recent evidence from phylogenetic studies using DNA sequencing of plant mitochondrial DNA shows that the genus lacks monophyly. As a result, plant taxonomists have moved several species, including the forage grasses tall fescue and meadow fescue, from the genus Festuca into the genus Lolium,[3] or alternatively into the segregate genus Schedonorus.
Festuca | |
---|---|
Festuca pratensis | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Poaceae |
Subfamily: | Pooideae |
Supertribe: | Poodae |
Tribe: | Poeae |
Subtribe: | Loliinae |
Genus: | Festuca Tourn. ex L. (1753) |
Synonyms[1] | |
Synonymy
|
Because the taxonomy is complex, scientists have not determined how many true species belong to the genus, but estimates range from more than 400[4] to over 640.[5][6][7]