It is found in sandy or well-drained soils below 7,000 feet (2,100 m) in elevation in the Southwestern United States and parts of Mexico.

Deergrass is characterized by dense, tufted basal foliage consisting of narrow pointed leaves that reach lengths of about 3 feet (0.91 m).

[1][2] There it inhabits a wide range of ecotypes including grassland, riparian, chaparral, mixed conifer, and oak woodland communities.

Deergrass can grow in areas with periodic flooding, but cannot tolerate standing water and poorly drained soils.

Restoration efforts currently use deergrass to displace exotic invasive annuals that dominate some grassland ecosystems.

Deergrass can also be used to remediate overtilled, eroded agricultural land where it anchors and returns lost organic matter to the soil.

In California, except in areas of heavy frost, Muhlenbegia rigens can be successfully planted in winter and spring to take advantage of seasonal rainfall.

Deergrass was important to many Native American tribes who used its long seedstalks as the principal material in coiled baskets.

[11] Without periodic traditional burning, deergrass needs annual or biannual haircuts, otherwise it collects an excess of dead thatch and becomes a fire hazard.