Tall Fescue (2024)

Family: Grass (Poaceae syn. Gramineae)

Scientific Name:

Festuca arundinacea

Tall Fescue plants
Photo: A J Brown

Status:

Native to Europe, North Africa and temperate Asia. Naturalised in temperate areas throughout most the rest of the world, including Australia

Plant Description:

A tufted perennial grass growing to 200 cm high. Leaves are dark green, hairless, strongly ribbed and flat, to 60 cm long and 12 mm wide. The membranous ligule, between stem and leaf is 0.5-2 mm long.

Flower-heads are 10-30 cm long, congested panicles. Spikelets are 3-10 flowered and 10-18 mm long.

Habitat:

Where growing naturally, Tall Fescue is commonly found in wet situations, such as in drains, on the margins of lakes or swamps, on river banks and in irrigation districts. Some forms and varieties have some salt tolerance.

Region	Salinity Class	Waterlogging Class
Central and Northern, Wimmera, Western, Gippsland	S0, S1, S2	W0, W1, W2, W3

Comments:

Tall Fescue has been widely used in the development of commercial fodder grasses with high winter production and summer drought tolerance. It has also been developed as a hard-wearing turf grass species.

Tall Fescue photos

Tall Fescue florets with exerted stigmas and anthers Photo: A J Brown	Flower head of Tall Fescue Photo: A J Brown
Tall Fescue ligule Photo: A J Brown	Mature spikelets of Tall Fescue Photo: A J Brown
Young spikelets of Tall Fescue Photo: A J Brown	Tall Fescue leaf blade Photo: A J Brown
Tall Fescue spikelets Photo: A J Brown