This occurs mostly on the southeastern Coastal Plain and Piedmont, but it has recently been reported inland to the Cumberland Plateau of Tenn. A coll. by R. Jones from "Wherry's Bog" in MCRE (EKY) has been recently identified as this species by R. Naczi (pers. comm.). D. lucidum is close to D. dichotomum (sensus stricto), but differs as follows: fertile lemmas and paleas densely papillose (viewing mature spikelets at x20), and pubescent or glabrous (versus glabrous); culms weak, often flattened (in cross-section), usually sprawling over other vegetation (versus erect for most of season); leaf blades generally smaller (to be determined); and ligule sometimes an eciliate membrane (versus always ciliate). D. lucidum occurs in boggy (but perhaps hydroxeric) habitats, and appears somewhat similar to D. microcarpon, which can also become weak and "floppy" but later in the year. D. lucidum plus D. dichotomum may be distinguished from D. microcarpon plus D. yadkinense as follows: cauline leaf blades mostly 4-7 cm x 3-9 mm (versus 5-14 cm x 5-14 mm); culms mostly 2-6 cm tall (versus 3-10 cm); nodes usually glabrous (versus often bearded); spikelets 1.8-2.3 mm long (versus often <1.8 mm). Despite this superficial similarity to dichotomum, initial analysis of DNA suggests that lucidum may have a more basal position in the phylogeny of Dichanthelium, sister to the [commutatum plus clandestinum plus boscii complexes] (Majure et al. 2023).