It is native to the southwestern United States, where it is widespread in scrub, woodland, grassland, and plateau habitat.

[1] It is a rhizomatous perennial grass producing bunches of erect stems about 1 mm wide and up to about 60 cm in maximum height.

The woody rhizome is shallow, spreading just under the soil surface, but it may reach 6 ft in length and when dense, helps the grass form a sod.

[1] The inflorescence is a series of hairy, rectangular[citation needed] spikelets.

The grass produces relatively little viable seed and spreads mostly via its rhizome.