Perennial, diverse species of grass with very long stems which creep along the surface of the ground (stolons), unlike common bent, which has only underground runners. Widespread on damp and wet soils, ditches and water margins. Also present as a weed grass on damp arable land. Creeping bent colonises grassland that has been grazed and trampled by cattle. Its agricultural value is as low as its nutritional value. It has recently gained importance as a turf grass for specific purposes. Very tolerant of close cropping to below 0.5 cm, which makes it suitable for golf greens and is often used for this purpose.
Botanical features
| Leaf | Leaf rolled in the bud, leaf sheath open and smooth. Leaf blade more slender than common bent, approx. 2–8 mm, short, softly drooping and strongly ribbed. Ligule long, white with rounded tip, often split. Auricles absent. |
| Culm | Culms geniculately ascending from long stolons, occasionally branched, 10–70 cm tall. |
| Inflorescence | 3–10 cm long panicle with numerous side branches of varying lengths at the lower nodes. Panicle spreads only during flowering. The 2–3 mm long spikelets are single-flowered and red to purple. Glumes 2–3 mm long. Lemma shorter than glume. Palea considerably shorter than lemma. |
| Fruit | Grain often enclosed by pair of glumes. Lemma and palea papery, whitish, semi-glossy and awnless. Caryopsis visible. TSW 0.05–0.08 g. |