Historically, this grassland community was common in parts of southern Wisconsin, occurring on slightly less droughty sites than dry prairie. Today, this community type is rare because of conversion of land to agricultural uses or the encroachment of woody vegetation due to the lack of wildfire. Dry-mesic prairie has many of the same grasses as dry prairie but is dominated by taller species such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) and Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans). Needle grass (Stipa spartea) and prairie drop-seed (Sporobolus heterolepis) may also be present. The herb component is more diverse than in dry prairies, as it may include many species that occur in both dry and mesic prairies. Composites and legumes are particularly well-represented in relatively undisturbed stands.
Soils are often somewhat sandy, either loamy sands or sandy loams. The landscape associations that can support this type include terraces on the margins of large river valleys, sandy outwash deposits, gravelly moraines, and the lower slopes of Driftless Area bluffs. As with the other tallgrass prairie communities (mesic prairie and wet-mesic prairie), well over 99% of this prairie type has been lost.
