ILLINOIS PLANT INFORMATION NETWORK ILPIN INFORMATION ON Festuca pratensis CLASS: MONOCOTYLEDENAE ORDER: CYPERALES FAMILY: POACEAE SCIENTIFIC NAME: Festuca pratensis AUTHORITY: Huds. COMMON NAMES: ENGLISH BLUEGRASS MEADOW FESCUE SYNONOMY: None PLANTS CODE: FEPR NATURAL COMMUNITIES: CULTURAL SAF FOREST COVER TYPE: UNAVAILABLE NATURAL DIVISION: UNAVAILABLE COUNTIES: ADAMS ALEXANDER BOND BOONE BROWN BUREAU CALHOUN CARROLL CASS CHAMPAIGN CHRISTIAN CLARK CLAY CLINTON COLES COOK CRAWFORD CUMBERLAND DEKALB DEWITT DOUGLAS DUPAGE EDGAR EDWARDS EFFINGHAM FAYETTE FORD FRANKLIN FULTON GALLATIN GREENE GRUNDY HAMILTON HANCOCK HARDIN HENDERSON HENRY IROQUOIS JACKSON JASPER JEFFERSON JERSEY JO DAVIESS JOHNSON KANE KANKAKEE KENDALL KNOX LAKE LASALLE LAWRENCE LEE LIVINGSTON LOGAN MCDONOUGH MCHENRY MCLEAN MACON MACOUPIN MADISON MARION MARSHALL MASON MASSAC MENARD MERCER MONROE MONTGOMERY MORGAN MOULTRIE OGLE PEORIA PERRY PIATT PIKE POPE PULASKI PUTNAM RANDOLPH RICHLAND ROCK ISLAND ST. CLAIR SALINE SANGAMON SCHUYLER SCOTT SHELBY STARK STEPHENSON TAZEWELL UNION VERMILION WABASH WARREN WASHINGTON WAYNE WHITE WHITESIDE WILL WILLIAMSON WINNEBAGO WOODFORD GROWTH FORM: Monocot TAXONOMY COMMENTS: Species was prevoiusly known as F. elatior. TAXONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS: ROOTS: Adventitious (fibrous) LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate LEAF TYPE: Simple LEAF MARGIN: Entire LEAF VENATION: Parallel LEAF SHAPE: Linear INFLORESCENCE: Panicle FLOWER MEROUS: 3 FLOWER STRUCTURE: Complete FLOWER PLACEMENT: Hypogynous FRUIT: Grain DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTIC COMMENTS: Species is coarse, weedy. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION: ORIGIN: Introduced- Europe POPULATION DYNAMICS: STATE STATUS: Not listed FEDERAL STATUS: Not listed COMMONNESS: Common ENDEMIC: NOT-ENDEMIC BIOLOGIC: HABIT: Grasslike LIFE CYCLE: Perennial REPRODUCTION: Sexual Vegetative FLOWERING PERIOD: MONTH BEGINNING- 5 MONTH END- 8 TROPHIC STATUS: Autotrophic C02 FIXATION: C3 SEX: Perfect ECODISTRIBUTION COMMENTS: Species is distributed on waste ground, meadows, fields, along railroad tracks, and open woods. ENVIRONMENTAL RELATIONSHIPS: No data entered FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS: No data entered HUMAN RELATIONSHIP DATA: ALLERGENIC: Yes WILDLIFE AND LIVESTOCK INFORMATION: FOOD VALUE: No data entered COVER VALUE: No data entered LIVESTOCK PALATABILITY DATA: CATTLE FORAGE: No data SHEEP FORAGE: No data HORSE FORAGE: No data GOAT FORAGE: No data ENERGY VALUE: High PROTEIN VALUE: Medium POISONOUS (LIVESTOCK): No LIVESTOCK COMMENTS: Species is high in forage value, often planted. REVEGETATION PLANTINGS: WEEDINESS: COLONIZING REVEGATATION COMMENTS: Species is planted frequently in Illinois by Highway Dept. for a quick ground-cover along new roads. REFERENCES: Steyermark, J. A. 1963. Flora of Missouri. Iowa State University Press, Ames. 1725 pp. Swink, F., and G. S. Wilhelm. 1979. Plants of the Chicago region. Third ed. The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois. 922 pp. Mohlenbrock, R. H. 1967-continuing. The illustrated flora of Illinois. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. END OF DATA FOR SPECIES Festuca pratensis ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ILPIN was developed by Louis Iverson*, with data compiled by David Ketzner and Jeanne Karnes Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 E. Peabody Dr., Champaign, IL 61820 *currently employed by USDA Forest Service, 359 Main Rd., Delaware, OH 43015