It is native to the United States, where it has a disjunct distribution, occurring in widely spaced locations throughout the Midwest and East.

[1] This rhizomatous annual, or sometimes perennial,[3] plant has stems which bend down or spread out instead of growing erect.

[4] Some flowers may also be produced on short stems that barely emerge from the leaf sheaths later in the season.

[3] This species grows in wet, sandy soils next to water bodies such as ponds and lakes.

[5] This fluctuation prevents many other types of plants from moving into the area and competing with the sedge.