Tall fescue
Festuca arundinacea
Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) is a cool-season, non-native grass commonly seen in cattle pastures across the state. Tall fescue can escape from where planted and invade native prairies and other natural communities.
Leaves are coarse and 4 to 18 inches long, smooth on the underside, and usually rough on the upper surface. It is often one of the first grasses to green up in the spring, and in southern Missouri, it stays green all winter. The leaves are usually deep green and often appear glossy. Tall fescue spreads readily by seed and rhizomes and can produce toxic substances that are released into the soil that further aid in it outcompeting native plant species.
In addition, all fescue is often infected with an endophytic fungus that can cause illness in cattle and some wildlife.
Tall fescue can be treated with glyphosate on warm days during the winter. The recommended control is through a foliar application of glyphosate with surfactant added. Often multiple applications are necessary to eradicate an established stand. One quart of glyphosate per acre in the winter is recommended. For spot treatment of isolated tall fescue plants, use 1% to 2% of glyphosate with surfactant.
Prescribed burning can also help control it, and in some cases, kill it, along with other invasive herbaceous plants like spotted knapweed and teasel rosettes, which are green in winter.
If native species are present, a fall/winter application with one quart of glyphosate per acre is effective after a frost. If spraying in the fall/winter, it is important to spray in a window of warmer weather with daytime temperatures around 50 degrees and nighttime temperatures above freezing so the plant will actively take in the herbicide.
For more on tall fescue control methods, consult this tall fescue fact sheet from the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Identification and fact sheets
- Learn about Tall fescue at Invasive.org
- Read more from the Missouri Department of Conservation about identification, threats, and control practices of Tall fescue
Representative photos of Tall fescue:
Photos by Joseph M. DiTomaso, University of California – Davis, Bugwood.org
Tall fescue impact, abundance, and trend in Missouri
