It is native to Brazil and Argentina, but it is known throughout the world as an introduced species and at times a common weed.

Paspalum dilatatum is a food source for several avian species, including the long-tailed widowbird.

The common name dallisgrass was derived from A. T. Dallis, a 19th-century farmer who grew the species extensively near La Grange, Georgia.

[3] This is a perennial bunch grass forming dense, stiff clumps in the soil and spreading outward.

The inflorescence is divided into a few branches lined neatly with beadlike pairs of green to purple spikelets.