Tall Fescue (Schedonorus phoenix)

Taxonomy

Domain	Eukarya
Kingdom	Plantae
Phylum	Magnoliophyta
Class	Magnoliopsida
Superorder	Lilianae
Order	Poales
Family	Poaceae
Genus	Festuca

Scientific Name

Festuca arundinacea

Scientific Name Synonyms

Schedonorus arundinaceus

Schedonorus phoenix

Lolium arundinaceum

Festuca elatior

Festuca elatior ssp. arundinacea

Common Name

tall fescue

Miller, J.H., E.B, Chambliss, N.J. Loewenstein. 2010. A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests. General Technical Report SRS-119. Asheville, NC. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 126 p.

Plant

Erect, tufted, cool-season perennial grass 2 to 4 feet (60 to 120 cm) in height, green in winter and spring during which it is the most common green bunchgrass. Dark-green leaves appearing in late winter, usually flowering in spring (infrequently in late summer). Semidormant during heat of summer, with whitish seedstalks persisting. Growth resuming in fall and continuing into winter. Many cultivars.

Stem (culm)

Moderately stout, unbranched, hairless with round cross section and 1 to 3 swollen light-green nodes widely spaced near the base.

Leaves

Mostly basal and a few alternate, flat and long-lanceolate, 4 to 18 inches (10 to 45 cm) long and 0.1 to 0.3 inch (3 to 8 mm) wide. Whitish to yellow-green flared collars, with collar backs often at an angle to the stem. Blades smooth to rough, with 1 to 2 leaves along the stem, becoming smaller upward. Midvein not apparent. Ligule a tiny white membrane.

Flowers

March to June (to October). Loosely branched terminal panicles, 4 to 12 inches (10 to 30 cm) long that are erect or nodding at tips, narrow and tight, then spreading in spring. Branches shorter upward, with 4 to 7 flowers per branch. Flowers greenish white and shiny becoming purplish with whitish stamens and stigma protruding. Spikelets spindle shaped, hairless, ellipsoid with a pointed tip.

Seeds

May (to November). Husked grain, spindle shaped, 0.1 to 0.2 inch (3 to 5 mm) long. Whitish straw-colored husks, usually tipped with a short hair.

Ecology

The predominant cool-season bunchgrass. Occurs as tufted clumps or small to extensive colonies along forest margins and right-of-ways, and widely escaped to invade new forest plantations, roads, openings and high-elevation balds. Grows on wet to dry sites. Spreads by expanding root crowns and less by seeds. Replaces warm-season grassland communities and prairies to the detriment of unique plants and birds. Certain varieties poisonous to livestock and wildlife by infecting them with an endophytic fungus.

Resembles

Resembles other grasses, especially other fescues and ryegrasses (Schedonorus spp.) but distinguished by forming extensive colonies (often planted on roadsides and pastures, to escape into infestations), and having long rounded stems with lower swollen nodes and whitish, flared collars at the base of leaves. Ryegrasses distinguished by producing alternate seed head tight clusters on opposite sides of seedstalks in spring.

History and use

Introduced from Europe in the early to mid-1800s. Recognized as a valuable forage grass in 1930s when the ecotype Kentucky 31 was discovered. Now widely distributed most everywhere in the world. Established widely for turf, forage, soil stabilization and wildlife food plots.

Distribution

Found throughout the region with frequent and dense infestations in KY, VA, TN, NC, MS, and the northern portions of SC and AR.

Management strategies

• Do not plant. Remove prior plantings, and control sprouts and seedlings. Bag and dispose of plants and seeds in a dumpster or burn.
• Treat when new plants are young to prevent seed formation.
• Pull, cut, and treat when seed are not present.
• Minimize disturbance where this plant occurs, and anticipate wider occupation when plants are present before disturbance.
• Early spring burning, if repeated, inhibits fescue and encourages native warm-season grasses.
• Readily eaten by most livestock although toxic in certain seasons.

Recommended control procedures

• On forest lands, apply a glyphosate herbicide as a 5-percent solution in water (2 quarts per 10 gallons mix per acre) or when there are no concerns for surrounding plants, Arsenal AC* as a 1-percent solution (25 ounces per 20 gallons mix per acre) in spring.
• On noncroplands, apply 10 to 12 ounces of Plateau* or 20 to 24 ounces of Journey* per 20 gallons mix per acre (consult the label for additives) in spring. Mixing Plateau with a glyphosate herbicide will improve control but may damage associated native plants. Vantage (sethoxydim), Poast® (sethoxydim), Assure® II (quizalofop), and Select® 2 EC (clethodim) may be useful in certain situations for establishing or releasing native grasses, but they are usually more costly than using Journey or a glyphosate mix with Plateau.

* Nontarget plants may be killed or injured by root uptake.

Images

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