Cool season, stoloniferous perennial. Stems creeping and rooting at basal nodes, 10–110 cm. Leaves: blades flat and lax, 5–14 mm wide, often wrinkled, ligule 1–8 mm long. Inflorescence an open panicle 7–28 cm long. Spikelets 2–3.5 mm long, with 2 to 3 well-spaced florets glumes weakly 1-veined. Lemmas blunt-tipped and prominently 3-veined, awnless; palea well developed. Disarticulation above glumes; unit of dispersal the floret (Lavin in
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).
Wet meadows, edges of lakes, springs, and slow running streams from low to middle elevations (Lavin in
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).