''Festuca octoflora'', also known as ''Vulpia octoflora'', is an

annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. Globally, 6% of all plant species and 15% of herbaceous plants (excluding trees and shrubs) are ...

in the grass family (

Poaceae Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...

).Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd E. 2013, p 285 The common name six-week fescue is because it supplies about 6 weeks of cattle forage after a rain. Other common names include sixweeks fescue, six-weeks fescue, pullout grass, eight-flower six-weeks grass, or eight-flowered fescue.

Range and habitat

This

bunchgrass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennia ...

is native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

occurring across a large part of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, in all of the lower 48

contiguous United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

, and

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It grows in open, sunny places between shrubs and in burn areas. It is commonly found in burn areas after a fire.

Varieties

''Festuca octoflora''/''Vulpia octoflora'' varieties include: *''Vulpia octoflora'' var. ''glauca'' (AKA ''Festuca octoflora''

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

var. ''tenella'', ''Festuca gracilenta'' Buckley, ''Festuca tenella''

Willd. Carl Ludwig Willdenow (22 August 1765 – 10 July 1812) was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants. Willdenow was also ...

, and ''Vulpia octoflora'' var. ''tenella'') *''Vulpia octoflora'' var. ''hirtella'' *''Vulpia octoflora'' var. ''octoflora''

References

External links

Jepson Manual – ''Vulpia octoflora''
octoflora Bunchgrasses of North America Grasses of the United States Grasses of Canada Grasses of Mexico Native grasses of California Plants described in 1788 {{Pooideae-stub