This large shrub is restricted to central and southern Appalachian regions. The recent FNA 8 erroneously omitted Ky. and Va. from its mapped range; see K for an accurate detailed map. C, alnifolia L. is a more southern and eastern species (mostly on coastal plains), but it is sometimes cultivated. It has been erroneously reported as a wild plant from Ky. (BA, M), and in Tenn., it is known only from Coffee Co. on the southern Highland Rim (Ch). (Initial SERNEC data have included cultivated alnifolia from MADI, and acuminata misidentified as alnifolia from Morgan Co., Tenn.) C. alnifolia (sensu lato) differs from acuminata as follows (FNA 8, W): leaves obovate or oblong (versus oblong or elliptic), averaging 5-9 x 2-4 cm (versus 11-13 x 5-7 cm); distance up leaf margin from the leaf base to the first tooth averaging 3.4 cm (versus 2.4 cm); leaf apex obtuse to acute (versus acuminate); inflorescence bracts shorter than flowers (versus exceeding).