This woody vine is widely scattered over southeastern states, but uncommon to rare in most regions. It is generally restricted to thin mesic woods and edges near rockts, streams or wetlands. In Ky. plants have been discovered in Appalachian revines by F. Levy (PIKE; coll. at UNC) and D. Taylor (MCRE; coll. at BEREA). It is easily overlooked or mistaken for Celastrus scandens (or Decumaria barbara L. further south). The species is potentially monoecious but plants can appear dioecious in some years (Thien et al. 2009). Flowers have been reported to be thermogenic, with pollination by diverse beetles and flies (Fan et al. 2011).