Festuca cf. vivipara (L.) Sm. (Poaceae) (Finland, Lammi, Untulanharju, 1996). – Image: Harri Harmaja (scanned from dried specimen). – A few unmodified lemmas were present lowest in the inflorescence: they were almost glabrous and possessed an awn 0.2-1.2 mm long. Basal leaves measure 0.3-0.6 mm broad when dry. F. vivipara possesses a subarctic-arctic distribution, except in oceanic regions, with occurrence in northernmost Finland, so this very scanty occurrence would be a very isolated southern outpost. It remains to be ascertained whether this plant is the true F. vivipara or a possibly existing viviparous morph of F. ovina L. However, the site is a peculiar ecological niche: a boulder bed that faces NE on the slope of the famous esker and is an area of cold air ventilation from the inside of the esker. The vegetation at and around the boulder bed differs significantly from the rich woods with southern traits (such as the rich occurrences of Corylus avellana and Tilia cordata) prevailing elsewhere in the esker. In the same site, the pronouncedly northern moss species Polytrichum hyperboreum grows in its very isolated southernmost outpost.
Created August 30, 2004.