Festuca ovina var. rydbergii L. Sheep Fescue Habit: Densely tufted perennial. Culm: 15-60 cm. tall, densely tufted. Blade: Leaf-blades pale-green, capillary, involute, firm, mostly clustered at the base, the basal ones 5-12 cm. long, those of the culm very short. Inflorescence: Panicle short, narrow often contracted after blooming, 5-10 cm. long. Spikelets: 5-7.5 mm. long, 3-6 flowered, usually pale; florets close, the flowers perfect or the upper ones staminate, the rachilla articulate between the flowers. Glume: 2, unequal, keeled, narrow acute, the first mostly 1-nerved, the second 3-nerved. Lemma: Rounded on the back at least below, acute, smooth or slightly scabrous, 3-7-nerved, 3-4 mm. long, attenuate into a short awn 1-3 mm. long. Palea: About equaling the lemma. Habitat: Mountains, fields and waste places, cultivated in lawns and escaped southward to New York, Kentucky, Iowa and Kansas. June-July. Kansas Range: Ellis and Saline counties. Use: In Kansas occasionally in lawn mixtures.