Family: Poaceae

Origin, Description & Uses:
Hard fescue (Festuca trachyphylla) is a fine-textured, cool-season grass native to Europe and Asia. It forms dense, tufted clumps with narrow, gray-green leaves and is commonly used for low-maintenance lawns, erosion control, and roadside plantings due to its drought tolerance and ability to grow in poor soils.

Risks & Threats:
In Hawaiʻi, hard fescue is naturalized and possesses traits that are cause for concern. Its hardiness and ability to spread in disturbed areas may allow it to compete with native plants. Caution is recommended to ensure it does not negatively impact local ecosystems, and non-invasive or native alternatives should be considered.

High Risk Traits:

• Broad climate suitability (, demonstrating environmental versatility
  
• Widely naturalized (but no evidence in Hawaiian Islands)
  
• Regarded as a weed or weedy (but impacts unspecified)
  
• Other Festuca species have become invasive
  
• Shade-tolerant
  
• Tolerates many soil types
  
• Reproduces by seeds
  
• May hybridizes with other Festuca species
  
• Seeds may be dispersed by animals and intentionally by people
  
• Tolerates mowing

Low Risk Traits:

• Despite designation as weedy, impacts are unspecified, and generally regarded as a desirable cover species
  
• Unarmed (no spines, thorns, or burrs)
  
• Palatable to grazing animals
  
• Self-incompatible
  
• Not reported to spread vegetatively