Red fescue facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Red fescue
Spikelets and flowers
Scientific classification
Genus:	Festuca
Species:	rubra
Synonyms
Festuca arenaria Osbeck

Red fescue (scientific name: Festuca rubra) is a type of grass. People also call it creeping red fescue. This grass grows in many places around the world. You can find it across the Northern Half of the World. It can live in many different kinds of places and weather. Red fescue grows best in cool, mild areas. It likes soil that drains water well. This grass also prefers shady spots, so it is often planted where there isn't much sun. Wild animals eat red fescue. However, farmers do not use it much to feed their animals. This is because it does not grow very much and animals do not find it very tasty. Red fescue is also a popular plant for gardens.

What is Red Fescue?

Red fescue is a perennial plant. This means it lives for more than two years. Some types of red fescue have rhizomes. Rhizomes are underground stems that help the plant spread. Other types grow in clumps, like a bunchgrass. This grass mostly grows in neutral or acidic soils. It can grow to be about 2 to 20 centimeters (about 1 to 8 inches) tall.

Leaves and Flowers

Like other fescue grasses, red fescue has thin, needle-like leaves. These leaves are not very appealing to farm animals. The patches of grass it forms are not as clumpy as some other fescues. Its leaves are a bright green color.

Red fescue plants have small flowers called spikelets. There are usually 4 to 10 spikelets on each plant. They can be up to 15 millimeters (about half an inch) long. The ligule (a small flap where the leaf meets the stem) is very short and blunt.

How Red Fescue is Used

People grow Festuca rubra as an ornamental plant. This means it is grown for its beauty. It is often used as a turfgrass for lawns. It also works well as a groundcover. Groundcover plants spread out low to the ground. They help cover the soil.

You can let red fescue grow long for a natural, meadow-like look. Or, you can trim it sometimes. There are many different types of red fescue. Plant experts have created many special kinds. These are called cultivars. They are grown for gardens and landscaping.

• 

  The ligule is very short and blunt.

• 

  Festuca rubra

See also

In Spanish: Cañuela común para niños