Red Fescue (Festuca rubra L.)
Also known as creeping red fescue.
↑Summary
A grass with circumboreal distribution, native to the eastern and western portions of North America but introduced in the interior.
↑Range - Expand
Legend | Color |
Native | |
Expanded | |
Native or Not Present | |
Native or Expanded | |
Expanded or Not Present |
This tentative map is based on our own research. It may have limited data on Canada and/or Mexico, and there is some subjectivity in our assignment of plants as introduced vs. expanded. Read more in this blog post.
This species is sometimes planted intentionally as a turfgrass, and can escape cultivation. Its ability to colonize roadsides and abandoned agriculture has likely aided its establishment in new regions. We mark the new populations expanded because they are mostly contiguous with or near its native range. Our map may overestimate the native range of this species; it may be expanded rather than native in a broader range than pictured. Although we have not yet verified exactly where its native range ended, it may have been more restricted to the coast than our current map suggests.
↑Uses
Red fescue is used both an an ornamental grass, as a turfgrass, and as a low-maintenance groundcover. It can survive both when regularly mowed, unmowed, or occasionally trimmed.
↑Links & External Resources
• Red Fescue | Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) (About This Site)
• Festuca rubra (red fescue) | USDA PLANTS Database (About This Site)
• Festuca rubra | Go Botany (About This Site)
• Festuca rubra | Biota of North America Project (BONAP) (About This Site)
• Festuca rubra | NatureServe Explorer (About This Site)
• Festuca rubra | Flora of North America (About This Site)
• Red Fescue | Maryland Biodiversity Project (About This Site)