Perennial weeds may or may not reproduce by seed. They always, however, have the potential to reproduce by vegetative means. The rhizomes of wirestem muhly are short, creeping, and very scaly. Shoots are erect or grow along the ground and become erect at the tips. Stems range in length from 2 to 3 feet.
Stems are smooth below joints, very tough, leafy, branch freely, and often root at the lower nodes.
Leaves are flat, rough, pale green, scattered along the stem, and dense near the tip, giving the plant a brushy appearance. The seedhead is a panicle that barely protrudes from the leaf sheath. Wirestem muhly is found in fence rows and along roadsides. It sometimes persists in cultivated fields, but is most commonly found in no-till fields. Growth starts later in the spring than quackgrass.