Publication: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 36: 536. 1909.

Origin: Native

Herbarium search: CPNWH

Notes: FNA24: "Festuca saximontana grows in grasslands, meadows, open forests, and sand dune complexes of the northern plains and boreal, montane, and subalpine regions in the Flora region, extending from Alaska to Greenland, south to southern California, northern Arizona, and New Mexico in the west and to the Great Lakes region in the east. It is also reported from the Russian Far East. Festuca saximontana provides good forage for livestock and wildlife. It is closely related to F. brachyphylla, and is sometimes included in that species as F. brachyphylla subsp. saximontana (Rydb.) Hultén. It has also frequently been included in F. ovina.

Festuca saximontana var. purpusiana grows in subalpine or lower alpine habitats. The distribution of this taxon is poorly known; it probably extends from Alaska south to northern California. It is also reported from the Chukchi Peninsula in eastern Russia (Tzvelev 1976)."

Last updated 4/1/2020 by David Giblin.