It is native to North America, where it is found across Canada from British Columbia to Manitoba and south to Colorado in the United States.

[1] This plant is a perennial grass growing a single stem, not forming a tuft or clump.

The stiff, rolled leaves are mostly located around the base of the stem and reach up to 15 centimeters long by just a few millimeters wide.

[2] The plant reproduces vegetatively by sprouting from its rhizome and sexually by its wind-dispersed seed.

It grows in all stages of ecological succession and is a climax species in some regions, such as the Canadian mixed-grass prairie and the mountains and foothills of Montana.