Photograph from Lewis and Clark Herbarium/Academy of Natural Sciences
Idaho Fescue (Bluebunch Fescue)
Festuca idahoensis
June 10, 1806, on the Weippe Prairie, Idaho.
Grows in large tufts with flowers in narrow clusters on stiff stalks, flower stalks twice the height of the leaves. Flowers tiny, lacking petals, not easily visible, arranged in narrow clusters 4-8 in (10-20 cm) long. Height: 11-40 in (30-100 cm).
Rocky slopes, open woods, sagebrush plains, mountain meadows.
Washington to California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, north to Montana.
In spite of its rough leaves, Idaho fescue is still an important native forage grass.
