Revision of the Festuca alpina group (Festuca section Festuca, Poaceae) in Europe

The Festuca alpina group includes several small fescues growing in rocky habitats across the European mountain chains. A taxonomic study of F.?alpina and F.?alfrediana, the two most common species of this group, is presented here. Morphological data collected from 298 specimens across 37 populations from all the major European mountain ranges, genetic inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) data, chromosome counts and DNA ploidy information were analysed. We found that the two species are differentiated by a combination of morphological and genetic characters, which are in line with the geographical distributions. Festuca alpina is distributed from the Pyrenees and Alps to the western Carpathians, whereas F.?alfrediana is found in Sardinia, the Apennines and the Dinarids. Here, F.?alfrediana is split into three subspecies on the basis of quantitative morphological characters and complete geographical segregation: F.?alfrediana subsp. alfrediana in the Corso-Sardinian area; F.?alfrediana subsp. ferrariniana in the Apennines; and F.?alfrediana subsp. durmitorea in the Balkan Peninsula. The last two taxa are newly described here. Detailed description and information on identification, distribution, ecology, illustrations, synonyms and type material are provided. (C) 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 170, 618639.