It is a slender and wiry plant that grows in thick mats 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm) high, green in spring and summer, and turns light brown in late fall and winter.

These grasses provide rich habitat for crustaceans, mollusks, and birds, and serve as a major source of organic nutrients for the entire estuary.

During the colonial era, towns scattered from Narragansett Bay to the Gulf of Maine were often settled based on their proximity to salt marshes due to the importance of saltmeadow cordgrass for fodder.

Because saltmeadow cordgrass requires a salty, wet habitat, restricted tidal flow often dries out the marsh and encourages the growth of invasive freshwater plants.

Saltmeadow and smooth cordgrasses are often out-competed for space by common reed in areas where human activity has disturbed or altered the marsh.

It is a notorious pest in the San Francisco Bay Area, where it out-competes native plants such as soft bird's beak and alters the habitat of rare animals such as Ridgway's rail.