This bunchgrass grows in oak and hickory forests, woods, and meadows. It is a common grass on grassy balds in the southern Appalachians, where it occurs with redtop (Agrostis gigantea), timothy (Phleum pratense), Canada bluegrass (Poa compressa), Kentucky bluegrass (P. pratensis), red fescue (Festuca rubra), five-fingers (Potentilla canadensis), and sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella). It is a dominant species in the Great Smoky Mountains. It sometimes grows as a weed in crop fields.