Selected Plants of Navajo Rangelands
Fescue, Arizona
Tsinyaatł’ohyilzólí
![Delicately branched panicles](fullImages/Festuca_arizonica.jpg)
Arizona fescue is a native, long-lived perennial bunchgrass. The plant has no rhizomes. Culms (stems) are 1 to 3 feet tall. They are clustered, pale blue-green, and rough to the touch. Leaf blades are mostly basal, pale blue-green, 6 to 10 inches long, shaped like a string, and rough to the touch. The inflorescence is a panicle about 3 to 8 inches long. It has a deep, dense fibrous root system.
![Close-up of florets, showing the purplish glumes (protective scales)](fullImages/Festuca_arizonica_2.jpg)
![Stem and seedhead structure](fullImages/Festuca_arizonica_3.jpg)
![Florets with chaff](fullImages/Festuca_arizonica_4.jpg)
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