It is a coarse-textured grass that is not palatable to most livestock, and it eliminates other vegetation within each dense tuft. Matgrass is generally found in seasonally saturated mountain meadows. Leaves are grasslike, up to inch wide but appearing narrower because blades are tightly folded along the midrib . The blade spreads at nearly a right angle to the stem. Stems grow up to 8 inches tall and are tipped by inconspicuous slender spikes that emerge in midsummer and bear all spikelets on one side of the stem.
Spikelets are tiny and straw colored and tipped by short, straight awns .
Tufts are tightly rooted and hard to remove. Herbicides can kill individual tufts, which are easily hidden by vegetation. Broadcast application of non-selective herbicides are likely needed for eradication.