Quackgrass is a strongly rhizomatous, sod-forming, perennial grass.
Sheaths are round, open, and glabrous to pilose.
Quackgrass was introduced to North America from the Mediterranean region in the early 1900s. It now has a circumpolar distribution and is found in every state, but it is considered to be a problem only in the northern portion of this country. It is a highly competitive weed and is allelopathic. It can rapidly reduce the productivity of desirable vegetation in prairie, cropland, pastureland, rangeland, and lawns. It is commonly found growing on a wide variety of soils, but it is most abundant in fine, fertile, moist soils.