Populations of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) collected from Morocco and Portugal were evaluated at Kyushu National Agricultural Experiment Station. Moroccan populations displayed early or medium maturity, longer culms and panicles than cv. Nanryo. Portuguese populations except for population 86280 exhibited a late maturity, shorter culms and longer panicles than Nanryo. Most of the Moroccan populations showed a low vigor in the first year, while most of the Protuguese populations showed a low vigor in the second and third years. The early spring vigor of the Moroccan populations was superior to that of the Portuguese ones and Japanese cultivars, and some of the Moroccan populations showed a high vigor in summer, comparable to that of Nanryo, or even superior. Most of the Portuguese populations spread markedly and exhibited rhizomaty. Cluster analysis based on these characters indicated that the Moroccan and Portuguese populations except for population 86280 were isolated from each other and differed from the Japanese cultivars in these characters.