Festuca rubra L. subsp. rubra
red-fescue
Rhizomatous; culms > leaves; spikelets 10-12 mm; anthers 1.5-2.5 mm.
The specimen of B. C. Aston Antipodes, sent to Kew by D. Petrie is recorded by Saint-Yves (1931 op. cit. p. 303) as F. rubra var. rubra subvar. grandiflora, and by Zotov, V. D. Rec. Dom. Mus. 5: 124 (1965) as F. rubra var. commutata Gaudin. No special significance attaches to these subantarctic plants except Saint-Yves' and Zotov's determinations.
Within subsp. rubra a morphological gradient can be detected from high alpine populations to those of lowland areas. To indicate some of that range (for to attempt to do so completely might be impractical) some morphological features of points on that gradient are offered.
i. Alpine: leaves 2-7 cm, glaucous; culm 3-15 cm, erect, violet; panicle 1-5 cm, contracted; spikelets 4-10 mm, usually solitary; anthers 1.5-2.5 mm. Mostly on rock outcrops and there freely rhizomatous; also in nearby damp grassland. 2 n = 56.
Mountains of Marlborough and Canterbury, 1000-1850 m.
Specimens gathered by A. Wall on the Richmond Range, Mackenzie Country, 4000-6000 ft, were interpreted by Howarth (1928 op. cit. p. 76) as var. fallax Hack., but Saint-Yves (1931 op. cit. p. 306) referred them to F. briquetii St.-Yves along with plants of similar stature.
ii. Alpine and subalpine: tall; leaves 4-10 cm, glaucous; culm 10-30-(40) cm, erect, often hairy, violet; panicle 2-7 cm, contracted, branches binate below; spikelets in groups, 7-11 mm; anthers 1.2-2 mm. Mostly in seepages, watercourses, broken ground and rock outcrops.
Mountains of central North Id and Nelson, Marlborough and Canterbury, less frequently in Otago and Southland, 750-1550 m.
Some specimens of this general appearance were referred to F. rubra var. rubra subvar. vulgaris Hack. by Howarth (1928 op. cit. p. 67), and by E. Hackel in his determinations for T. F. Cheeseman, and D. Petrie. Many other specimens were similarly treated as subvar. vulgaris including taller, open, widely rhizomatous plants.
Inflorescence length and culm length are highly correlated (r = 0.94) in alpine and subalpine specimens, many of which are considered indigenous by some collectors.
iii. Lowland: tall or often straggling; leaves 10-30 cm, glaucous or not; panicle to 20 cm, open to somewhat contracted, branches often lax, solitary or binate below; spikelets in groups, 10-12 mm; anthers 1.5-2.5 mm.
Throughout, usually in montane and lowland areas.
iv. grandiflora: leaves to 30 cm, hairy below; culm 40-60 cm, many prominent nodes; panicles 7-14 cm, open, branches long, naked below; spikelets 8-11 mm; anthers 2.5-3.5 mm.
Sown grassland on Campbell, Auckland and Antipodes Islands.
