Oil Shale Fescue

Description

Plants bluish gray green, 20-40 cm high, densely tufted, tiller bases not stiffly erect, bases purplish, horizontal rooting stems present (short). Vegetative shoots arising outside, or breaking through the base of existing sheaths. Sheaths glabrous, not conspicuous at the base of the plant, splitting between the veins, open more than half their length. Collars glabrous. Auricles represented by distinct, erect, swellings or absent. Auricular cilia present, long and pilose-like. Ligules 0.2-0.5 mm long, ciliate (cilia prominent). Leaf blades 5-15(-20) cm long, more or less lax. Adaxial blade surfaces with trichomes, abaxial blade surfaces glabrous. Leaf blades flat or plicate (loosely rolled), 0.6-2 mm wide; 0.5-0.82-1 mm wide, 0.6-0.82-1 mm deep (cross sections are usually as wide as long). Veins 7-10. Adaxial to abaxial sclerenchyma strands absent. Abaxial sclerenchyma well developed, in discrete, relatively narrow strands opposite the veins. Ribs 6-9. Uppermost culm leaf sheaths somewhat inflated, or not inflated. Flag leaf blades 2-6 cm long. Culm nodes becoming exposed (sometimes dark purple), 2; internodes densely pubescent (similar to those of F. baffinensis).