In the southern part of its range it is restricted to the high elevations of the Appalachian Mountains.

[2] Danthonia compressa is a perennial bunchgrass with thin, compressed stems reaching up to about 80 centimeters in length, sometimes lying decumbent.

[2][3] This bunchgrass grows in oak and hickory forests, woods, and meadows.

It is a common grass on grassy balds in the southern Appalachians, where it occurs with redtop (Agrostis gigantea), timothy (Phleum pratense), Canada bluegrass (Poa compressa), Kentucky bluegrass (P. pratensis), red fescue (Festuca rubra), five-fingers (Potentilla canadensis), and sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella).

It is a dominant species in the Great Smoky Mountains.