Despite "Canada bluegrass" being one of its popular common names, this grass is not native to North America. Its native range embraces North Africa and much of temperate Eurasia--including most of Europe and stretching from Mediterranean Region to China.
Its bluish green culms (stems) are strongly flattened--hence the Latin epithet. It is 15-70 cm tall, with mostly short leaf blades, which are only 1-4 mm wide, often folded along midrib. Panicle compact, narrow, 3-10 cm long; spikelets crowded, subsessile, occupying most of branch length. Branches typically paired.