Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Festuca californica
Introductory
SPECIES: Festuca californica
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Walsh, Roberta A. 1994. Festuca californica. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/graminoid/fescal/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
FESCAL
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
FECA
FECAP
COMMON NAMES :
California fescue
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name of California fescue is Festuca
californica Vasey [5,6,7,9]. It is in the family Poaceae. Recognized
varieties are as follows [5,6,10]:
F. c. var. californica
F. c. var. parishii (Piper) Hitchc.
LIFE FORM :
Graminoid
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Festuca californica
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
California fescue occurs in the Coast Ranges from southwestern Oregon to
San Luis Obispo County, California [9]. It occurs in the Cascade Range
from Clackamas County, Oregon, south into California to the north
and central Sierra Nevada [5,6,7]. Festuca californica var. parishii
occurs as a disjunct population in the San Bernardino Mountains,
California [5,10].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES27 Redwood
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
STATES :
CA OR
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K005 Mixed conifer forest
K006 Redwood forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K029 California mixed evergreen forest
K030 California oakwoods
K033 Chaparral
K034 Montane chaparral
K047 Fescue - oatgrass
SAF COVER TYPES :
229 Pacific Douglas-fir
232 Redwood
234 Douglas-fir - tanoak - Pacific madrone
243 Sierra Nevada mixed conifer
244 Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
245 Pacific ponderosa pine
255 California coast live oak
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
California fescue is associated with tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus) in
the Coast Ranges of California and southwestern Oregon. Other species
associated with California fescue in these areas include chinquapin
(Chrysolepsis chrysophylla), canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepsis),
California black oak (Q. kelloggii), California bay (Umbellularia
californica), blueblossom (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus), California hazel
(Corylus cornuta var. californica), salal (Gaultheria shallon), Pacific
bayberry (Myrica californica), Pacific rhododendron (Rhododendron
macrophyllum), flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum), thimbleberry (Rubus
parviflorus), evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum), prince's-pine
(Chimaphila umbellata var. occidentalis), dwarf Oregon-grape (Berberis
nervosa), bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare), western whipplea (Whipplea
modesta), California brome (Bromus carinatus), and California sweetgrass
(Hierochloe occidentalis) [13].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Festuca californica
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
NO-ENTRY
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
California fescue is recommended for stabilizing or restoring disturbed
or degraded areas, for erosion control, and for wildlife food and cover [5].
The Soil Conservation Service is investigating California fescue for
grassland habitat restoration in California [1].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
California fescue cultivars are available in the horticultural trade [5].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Festuca californica
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
California fescue is a native, perennial bunchgrass [5,9]. Culms are
16 to 47 inches (40-120 cm) long [6,9,10]. Leaf blades are firm,
scabrous, and 4 to 39 inches (10-100 cm) long [5]. The inflorescence is
an open sparsely branched panicle 4 to 12 inches (10-30 cm) long; the
branches usually occur in pairs [5,6]. Spikelets are four to six
flowered [5,9]. The lemma is acuminate or short awned [6,7]. The fruit
is a caryopsis. California fescue does not produce rhizomes [5].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
hemicryptophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
California fescue sprouts from perennating buds at the base of the
culms. It also reproduces by seed [5].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
California fescue occurs on open dry ground, chaparral [5,9], thickets,
open forests [5,6], wood borders, shaded places [9], and moist
streambanks [7]. It occurs at elevations below 6,500 feet (1,981 m)
[5,9,10].
Festuca californica var. parishii occurs on dry benches at elevations
of 2,500 to 6,500 feet (762-1,981 m) [10].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Facultative Seral Species
California fescue grows in both open and shaded areas [5,6,7,9].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
California fescue blooms from April to July [9].
Festuca californica var. parishii blooms from May to July [10].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Festuca californica
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
California fescue has basal culm buds which may sprout after aerial
portions are burned. California fescue has densely clumped stems with
conspicuous dead leaf sheaths at the plant base [5]. If thick tufts
form, they may protect the basal buds from fire damage.
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Tussock graminoid
Secondary colonizer - off-site seed
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Festuca californica
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
California fescue culms and leaves are probably killed by fire during
the growing season.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
NO-ENTRY
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Festuca californica
REFERENCES :
1. Amme, David; Pitschel, Barbara M. 1990. Restoration and management of
California's grassland habitats. In: Hughes, H. Glenn; Bonnicksen,
Thomas M., eds. Restoration `89: the new management challange:
Proceedings, 1st annual meeting of the Society for Ecological
Restoration; 1989 January 16-20; Oakland, CA. Madison, WI: The
University of Wisconsin Arboretum, Society for Ecological Restoration:
532-542. [14721]
2. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
3. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
4. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
5. Hickman, James C., ed. 1993. The Jepson manual: Higher plants of
California. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 1400 p.
[21992]
6. Hitchcock, A. S. 1951. Manual of the grasses of the United States. Misc.
Publ. No. 200. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Agricultural Research Administration. 1051 p. [2nd edition revised by
Agnes Chase in two volumes. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.]. [1165]
7. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur. 1973. Flora of the Pacific
Northwest. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 730 p. [1168]
8. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
9. Munz, Philip A. 1973. A California flora and supplement. Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press. 1905 p. [6155]
10. Munz, Philip A. 1974. A flora of southern California. Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press. 1086 p. [4924]
11. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
12. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
13. Tappeiner, John C., II; McDonald, Philip M.; Roy, Douglass F. 1990.
Lithocarpus densiflorus (Hook. & Arn.) Rehd. tanoak. In: Burns, Russell
M.; Honkala, Barbara H., technical coordinators. Silvics of North
America. Volume 2. Hardwoods. Agric. Handb. 654. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 417-425. [13969]
14. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
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