Index of Species Information

SPECIES:  Festuca ovina var. vivipara

Introductory

SPECIES: Festuca ovina var. vivipara




AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Williams, Tara Y. 1990. Festuca ovina var. vivipara. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. 
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 
Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). 
Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ [].




ABBREVIATION : 
FESOVIV
FESOVI

SYNONYMS : 
   Festuca vivipara (L.) Smith


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   FEOVV


COMMON NAMES : 
   viviparous sheep fescue
   bulbiferous sheep fescue


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name of viviparous sheep fescue is
Festuca ovina var. vivipara L.  The taxonomic significance of this
variety is questionable [2,9].


LIFE FORM : 
Graminoid

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
Viviparous sheep fescue is rare in Glacier National Park [9].



DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE

SPECIES: Festuca ovina var. vivipara




GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Viviparous sheep fescue is found in the mountains of Scandinavia and in
southern Greenland, Iceland, and arctic Russia.  In North America, it
extends from Alaska east to Labrador and south to Newfoundland, Quebec,
and Montana [2].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES37  Mountain meadows
   FRES40  Alpine


STATES : 
     AK  MT  AB  BC  MB  NB  NF  NS  NT  ON
     PQ  SK  YT



BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
   8  Northern Rocky Mountains


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K052  Alpine meadows and barren


SAF COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
NO-ENTRY







MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

SPECIES: Festuca ovina var. vivipara






IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
NO-ENTRY


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY







BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

SPECIES: Festuca ovina var. vivipara




GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Viviparous sheep fescue is a caespitose perennial with dense tufts of
basal leaves [7].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Hemicryptophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Viviparous sheep fescue reproduces both sexually and vegetatively [4].
However, it spreads mostly by vegetative means [12].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Viviparous sheep fescue grows on gravelly prairies, moist or dry meadows
near or above timberline, and on alpine slopes.  It will grow in soils
with pH 6.7 to 7.8.  In Glacier National Park, it has been reported at
elevations between 6,975 and 7,700 feet (2,250 and 2,485 m) [1,7,9].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Viviparous sheep fescue has mature fruit by late July and August [9].







FIRE ECOLOGY

SPECIES: Festuca ovina var. vivipara




FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
NO-ENTRY







FIRE EFFECTS

SPECIES: Festuca ovina var. vivipara




IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
The Research Project Summary Vegetation change in grasslands and heathlands 
following multiple spring, summer, and fall prescription fires in Massachusetts 
provides information on prescribed fire and postfire response of plant community 
species, including sheep fescue, that was not available when this species review 
was written.


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY







REFERENCES

SPECIES: Festuca ovina var. vivipara




REFERENCES : 

 1.  Bamberg, Samuel A.; Major, Jack. 1968. Ecology of the vegetation and
       soils associated with calcareous parent materials in three alpine
       regions of Montana. Ecological Monographs. 38(2): 127-167.  [12554]

 2.  Bamberg, S. A.; Pemble, R. H. 1968. New records of disjunct
       arctic-alpine plants in Montana. Rhodora. 70: 103-112.  [12961]

 3.  Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
       reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
       associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
       U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. 
       [434]

 4.  Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information
       network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and
       Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,
       Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p.  [806]

 5.  Dorn, Robert D. 1984. Vascular plants of Montana. Cheyenne, WY: Mountain
       West Publishing. 276 p.  [819]

 6.  Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
       1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
       ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p.  [998]

 7.  Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur; Ownbey, Marion. 1959. Vascular
       plants of the Pacific Northwest. Part 4: Ericaceae through
       Campanulaceae. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 510 p. 
       [1170]

 8.  Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
       of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
       American Geographical Society. 77 p.  [1384]

 9.  Lesica, Peter. 1984. Rare vascular plants of Glacier National Park,
       Montana. Missoula, MT: University of Montana, Department of Botany. 27
       p.  [12049]

10.  Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
       geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p.  [2843]

11.  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
       National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
       SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p.  [11573]

12.  Wilson, J. Bastow; Newman, E. I. 1987. Competition between upland
       grasses; root and shoot competition between Deschampsia flexuosa and
       Festuca ovina. Acta Oecologia/Oecologia Generalis. 8(4): 501-509. 
       [11179]

13.  Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
       Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p.  [905]

14.  Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
       Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
       Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p.  [20090]

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