Plains Rough Fescue (Festuca hallii)

Tribe Poeae

Rarity Status

Common.

Origin

Native to North America.

Synonyms

Festuca scabrella, which is lumped with F. campestris by some authors. It is also commonly known by local ranchers as “Prairie Wool.”

Identification

Festuca hallii is a bunchgrass that grows 20 to 60 cm tall and has short rhizomes.

The leaf blades of F. hallii are quite narrow, 1 to 1.5 mm wide, about 30 cm long, and long-pointed. They are also always in-rolled but folded at emergence. Blades are also rough above and smooth below and bluish or grey-green.

Sheaths are round, hairless, shiny and ridged, occasionally with a purplish tinge and purple at the base. Old sheaths often remain persistent and are split. Sheath margins overlap and are pale in colour. Ligules appear lacerated and hair-fringed and are typically short and not prominently notched. Collars are not distinct and yellowish, and there are no auricles present.

The heads are in the form of panicles that range from 6 to 15 cm long. They can be open or contracted. The spikelets are 2- to 3-flowered, with the third floret sterile, and glumes nearly equal (6 to 7 and 7 to 8 mm long) and as long as the first lemma (lemmas 7 to 8 mm long). These glumes are hairless, somewhat shiny, often suffused with purple, and the lemmas are more roughened with tiny hairs and purplish. There are no awns present.

Blooming Period

F. hallii typically blooms from June to August.

Similar Species

F. hallii can be easily confused with Festuca campestris. F. campestris resides primarily in the foothills, whereas F. hallii is a prairie grass.

Where to Find This Plant:

F. hallii is found primarily in the parkland ecoregion with black chernozemic soils, in the eastern Cypress Hills, and into the prairie region on good soils (primarily Dark Brown Chernozem) that receive sufficient moisture and are fairly sheltered. This is a climax species, which means the plant community has reached a point where the dominant species will persist despite its slow initial establishment.

Value to Livestock & Wildlife

This species provides a high-quality forage source for livestock and wildlife and is valued particularly for winter grazing. Its palatability tends to be less favourable to animals in the spring and summer, particularly if a significant amount of residue from previous seasons remains on the plant or during hot, dry weather. Unlike many other grasses, F. hallii is capable of curing on the stem, making it a highly sought-after forage for animals to find and graze during the winter. It is also considered highly valuable native grass hay due to its ability to produce high yields and its less robust tufted nature, making it easy to cut.

It is believed that rough fescue evolved with the winter grazing habits of bison. The historical migration patterns of the bison heading north to wintering grounds in the parkland ecoregion, fescue grasslands, into the foothills, and even further north meant that the grasses available to graze would have gone into dormancy. It is thought that the bison migrated back south to the prairies after the winter, leaving the rough fescue plants behind. During this season-long rest period, rough fescue was given ample time to grow and reach maturity and cure on the stem before the first frosts hit and before the bison returned to their wintering grounds again.

F. hallii is considered a “decreaser” under heavy [continuous] grazing and is particularly sensitive to grazing during its growth cycle. Because of this, this species is replaced by other grasses such as Stipa curtiseta (Western Porcupine Grass), Agropyron trachycaulum var. unilaterale (Awned Wheatgrass), and various forbs.

Suitability/Use for Reclamation

It is a common plant to use in a reclamation mix to establish disturbed sites in prairie grassland. However, its use is challenging due to high seed prices, short supply, and the long establishment period. Once this species successfully establishes itself, though, the persistence of this beautiful grass is quite admirable.

Toxic, Edible, Medicinal, and Cultural Uses

Nothing is recorded except as fodder for expansive bison herds, which historical nomadic indigenous peoples hunted for food, clothing, tools, and other uses.

Ranchers call it prairie wool because the many clumps of dead, brownish-grey plants of plains rough fescue have a similar texture and appearance to wool from sheep.

Other Fascinating Information

F. hallii is a valuable rangeland climax species. However, significant challenges threaten its existence as a range species, such as lack of deferred grazing on native range, overgrazing, and cultivation. The latter especially has caused the demise of vast acres of pristine F. hallii-dominated rangelands, resulting in small pockets of rough fescue grassland. Some have estimated that less than two percent of intact F. hallii rangelands remain in the parkland region. Other challenges include its high dependence on seed production for its ability to spread, its slow establishment and reproduction ability. Seed production can also be quite variable, as some years F. hallii may produce very little to no seed, and other years conditions will be perfect to induce plants to produce a significant amount of seed, such as that pictured above.

Festuca hallii also stands as the provincial grass of Alberta.

Gallery

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