Festuca
( the old Latin name, meaning originally a stem or straw. Fescue Grass. ORD. Gramineae. A large genus, containing about eighty species, principally natives of Arctic, cold and temperate regions. Nine species are natives of Britain. They are chiefly agricultural grasses. Several are, however, very graceful, and deserving of cultivation. Panicles loose; spikelets oblong, more or less compressed. F. glauca an F. nigrescens are particularly neat and compact in growth, and are well adapted for borders. They are of the easiest culture in common garden soil. Propagated by seeds, or by divisions.