Its specific epithet "erectum" refers to the erect culms of the grass.

Brachyelytrum erectum grows characteristically erect culms 30–100 cm (12–39 in) tall with pilose nodes.

The rachilla is present as a slender, naked bristle behind the palea, about half to two-thirds as long.

[1][2] Brachyelytrum erectum can be found in woods, thickets, and occasionally occurring on beds of limestone or other alkaline bedrock.

[3] Its grows in Canada from Lake of the Woods east to Newfoundland and in the United States from western Massachusetts to Iowa and south to Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.