Festuca alpina, also known as the alphine fescue, is a species of grass in the genus Festuca.[1] It grows in rocky habitats in many of the mountains chains across Europe.[2] in the countries of Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Yugoslavia.[3]
When regarded as an aggregate group, the Festuca alpina group includes a number of other taxa, with Festuca alfrediana as the most notable.
Festuca alpina can grow up to 6 to 20 centimetres high. Its leaves are curled into bristles, are less than 0.5 millimeters wide, and have a green hue. Leaf sheaths of non-flowering shoots are closed to about the middle.
Ligules are less than 0.5 milimeters long, its panicles are 1.5 to 3 centimetres long, and its spikelets are 6 centimeters long in a pale green hue. Lemmas are about 3.5 to 4.2 millimeters in length, with awns about 3 to 4 millimeters long. Its anthers are between 0.8 and 1.5 millimeters in length (rarely up to 2mm), while its ovaries are glabrous. Flowering period: July to August.[4]