Bahiagrass arrived in the United States around 1913, brought to Florida from South America as a forage grass for grazing animals. It has since become one of the most reliable ground covers for difficult southern sites — roadsides, disturbed banks, and low-fertility soils where other grasses struggle or fail entirely. Its mat-forming habit and light green color give it a coarse, open look that does not suit most lawn situations, but for erosion control and low-input pasture, few warm-season grasses match its ease of establishment from seed.

The grass grows to about a foot tall when left unmowed, sending up distinctive Y-shaped inflorescences that can reach two feet and create a maintenance headache on turfgrass sites. It spreads through shallow rhizomes rooting at nodes, tolerates drought and sandy soils well, and has notably fewer disease and insect problems than comparable warm-season species. Preferred pH runs below 6.5, and full sun is essential. In practice, it is most useful for the gardener who needs to stabilize a slope and move on.