Spikelets 3–5 mm, with (2)3–5 florets. Lower glumes 0.6–1.3 mm; upper glumes 1.5–2.3 mm, usually rounded, sometimes acute; lemmas 1.8–2.5 mm. 2n = 60.
Glyceria canadensis var. laxa grows in swamps, bogs, and wet woods, primarily along the eastern seaboard of North America from Nova Scotia to northeastern Tennessee. It is sometimes treated as a hybrid, G. ×laxa (Scribn.) Scribn., but several specimens have dehiscent anthers and well-formed caryopses, indicating that they are not hybrids. The report of 2n = 30 is based on counts for G. ×ottawaensis.