[1] It is native to North America, including most of Canada, the Dominican Republic, the United States and parts of Mexico.

The sedge lives in wet and seasonally wet habitat, and grows easily as a roadside weed.

It produces clumps of stems up to a meter tall.

The inflorescence is a dense, tangled cluster of many flower spikes up to about 10 cm (3.9 in) long.

Tolerates fluctuating water levels and periods of drying.