This ranges across northeastern and Appalachian regions, usually in thin submesic woodlands and edges, surviving mostly along roadsides with less frequent mowing (or herbiciding). There are somewhat disjunct extensions of its range into the Interior Low Plateaus, especially in counties along the Ohio Rv. (K). But the species has become uncommon to rare even in eastern Ky. Wilbur (1976) stated: "A. exaltata is a woodland species with a high herbivore load and low annual reproductive output, but with a remarkable ability to withstand herbivore damage from deer and the chrysomelid beetle Labidomera clivicollis." Compared to other species of Asclepias in eastern North America, exaltata has generally larger leaves (mostly 12-30 x 4-10 cm), which are membranaceous and largely glabrous.