Edlund's fescue facts for kids

Festuca edlundiae, also known as Edlund's fescue, is a type of grass. It grows naturally in very cold places like Alaska, the Canadian Arctic islands, northern Greenland, parts of arctic Russia, and Svalbard. This grass is special because it lives for many years and grows in clumps. Its scientific name, edlundiae, honors Doctor Sylvia Edlund, a Canadian scientist who studies plants. Three scientists, Susan Aiken, Laurie Consaul, and Leonard Lefkovitch, first described this plant in 1995.

What is Edlund's Fescue Like?

Edlund's fescue is a type of grass that looks a bit like other fescue grasses. It is very similar to a grass called Festuca brachyphylla. It also looks like boreal fescue (Festuca hyperborea).

How to Identify Edlund's Fescue

You can tell Edlund's fescue apart from boreal fescue by looking at its leaves and flowers.

• Leaves: The very last leaf on a stem, called the "flag leaf," is usually 5 millimeters (about 0.2 inches) long or even longer.
• Flowers: The plant has larger spikelets. Spikelets are small groups of flowers that make up the grass head.
• Growth: This grass grows in thick, tight clumps. It does not spread out using underground stems called rhizomes.

Where Does Edlund's Fescue Grow?

This special grass grows in the High Arctic. This is a very cold region near the North Pole.

Preferred Soil Conditions

Edlund's fescue likes to grow in certain types of soil. It prefers soils that are:

• Fine-grained: This means the soil is made of very small particles, like clay or silt.
• Calcareous: This type of soil has a lot of calcium carbonate in it. This makes the soil a bit chalky or limy.