Basal blades 3-8 cm, rigid, with long hairs on or near the bases and margins. Culms more than 1 mm thick, stiff; lower internodes pilose; upper internodes short-pilose to nearly glabrous. Cauline sheaths with ascending hairs, hairs to 4 mm, not papillose-based: ligules 1-4 mm; blades 5-12 mm wide, firm, ascending, abaxial surfaces appressed-pubescent, adaxial surfaces nearly glabrous except for the long hairs on or near the scabridulous margins and bases. Spikelets 2.5-3 mm, ellipsoid, sparsely to densely pilose. 2n = 18.
Dichanthelium ovale subsp. ovale grows in dry, open, sandy woods, pinelands, and sandhills along the east coast of the United States from New Jersey southwards, extending into the coastal plain from eastern Texas to South Carolina, and in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. It intergrades somewhat with subsp. pseudopubescens. Occasional long-spikelet specimens exhibit morphological characteristics of D. oligosanthes and D. commutatum.