[1] It is a perennial grass forming a thick tuft with a knotted base and rhizome.

The panicle has short branches appressed to the others, making the inflorescence narrow.

This plant uses C4 carbon fixation as its method of energy metabolism.

[2] It is native to Mexico and the southwestern quadrant of the United States.

It grows in several types of habitat, including plateau and desert, woodlands, sagebrush, plains, and other areas with dry sandy and clay soils.