A new species of Festuca (F. pseudovaginata Penksza) is described in the present study. It occurs on open sandy grasslands of the Carpathian Basin, in Hungary. The plant is 20-35 cm high, its inflorescence is short and lemmas carry long awn (1.2-1.8 mm). Matured basal leaves have continuous sclerenchyma. This taxon flowers as early as the end of April. The locus classicus of this species, where it was first found, is Kis-tece legelő (Kis-tece pasture) situated near Vácrátót, Hungary. Chromosome number of the specimens is 2n = 14. Specimens of taxa (altogether 6 specimens, 3 from the locus classicus, 1 of which is the holotype, and 3 from near Örkény) were placed in the Botanical Collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum (BP).