Puccinellia howellii is perennial bunchgrass, and grows in clumpy monotypic stands of stems up to 60 centimeters tall.

[4] The plants are mostly dormant during warm months when the soil salinity is highest, and the seed germinates during wet seasons when water flow dilutes the salt.

[4] The single population of the grass is made up of several thousand individuals, a dominant species of the vegetation in this tiny network of mineral springs.

[2] Threats to this already extremely rare grass include polluted surface runoff from the highway which is just steps away from its habitat,[6] alterations in the specific moisture, pH, and salinity requirements of the plant season by season,[2] and changes in the sediment amounts entering the habitat by water flow.

[2] Other threats include grazing by black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), garbage from the road, and random events that could affect the entire population.