Rough Fescue Complex

Festuca scabrella, native

• Dominant in transitional zones between dry prairie areas dominated by woody species
• Long-lived, cool season perennial
• Emergence can be poor as high soil moisture is required for adequate emergence
• Requires at least two full growing seasons to fully establish
• Very productive forage
• Will decline in vigour and prominence over time and be replaced by an increase of forbs and grasses
• Plants produce seed only every two years (at the very most), making seed expensive and in short supply
• F. hallii likes moist prairies and grassy openings in aspen parkland — found in the central to northern parts of the Canadian Prairies
• F. campestris likes cool, moist grasslands of the foothills and montane regions — found in the grasslands of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and Cypress Hills
• F. altaica likes a wide variety of habitats from gravel outwashes to open pine forest and meadows in the northern subalpine and arctic — found in northern boreal forest and along Canadian Rocky Mountains