It is native to Russia and China, and has been introduced to other parts of the world, such as Canada and the United States.

[1] Psathyrostachys juncea is a great source of food for grazing animals, as it has high nutrition value in its dense basal leaves, even in the late summer and autumn seasons.

Psathyrostachys juncea is a perennial bunch grass that grows in tufts that may be up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) tall or taller.

In recent years, scientists have explored possible solutions to improving seedling vigor.

[5] In nature, P. juncea are diploids, however, tetraploid germplasm have been shown to increase seed size and seedling vigor in P.

[4] Regeneration of this species has been successful, meaning that scientists can more easily select for specific traits and manipulate P. juncea at the cellular level.

As a result, breeding programs have begun to grow tetraploid cultivars so as to increase the success of P. juncea germination.

There is a small change in tissue quality and nutrition content with different ploidy levels, but nothing significant.

[5] Psathyrostachys juncea was introduced to North America as a forage grass and for rangeland rehabilitation and soil stabilization.

"[7] It is palatable to livestock, though it does not make a good hay due to its basal leaves.

The Southwestern United States has some invasive occurrences, such as on the Grand Canyon plateaus.

[1] There are four novel alleles coding for high molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) in the genus Psathyrostachys.