The Foothills Fescue Vegetation
The Foothills Fescue grasslands are dominated by
Rough Fescue, Idaho Fescue, Parry's Oatgrass and Intermediate Oatgrass.
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Associated grasses include
Columbia Needle Grass and Cusick's Bluegrass. In the Cypress
Hills,
Parry's Oatgrass is rare while Slender Wheat Grass is more common.
Shrubby Cinquefoil is a locally dominant shrub on rapidly drained sites along the foothills and on moist sites in the Cypress Hills, where it has increased with grazing pressure on the herbaceous
species.
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This particular grassland subregion also has a greater variety and cover of forbs than does the
Northern Fescue Subregion.
Some dominant species include: Sticky Geranium, Prairie Crocus, Wooly
Gromwell, Golden Bean, Prairie Sagewort, American Sweet Vetch, Low
Larkspur, Heart-leaved Buttercup, Shooting Star, and Western Wild
Parsley. Balsam-root is also characteristic of steep slopes of the foothills portion but is absent in the Cypress Hills.
Narrow-leaved Cottonwood woodlands occur on fluvial terraces of the Oldman, Belly, Waterton, and St. Mary's rivers. These are generally less extensive than those in the Mixedgrass
Subregion.