Although Cantino (1982) treated this taxon as a subspecies of virginiana, differences are sufficient to justify species status. Widspread across southeastern states, praemorsa occurs mostly in remnants of dry rocky grassland and glades on base-rich soils. Compared to typical virginiana, flowering of praemorsa tends to be later (mostly Jul-Sep versus Jun-Aug); racemes tend to be larger (mostly 10-20 cm long versus 3-7 mm) and more branched, flowers tend to be larger (mostly 2-3.5 cm versus 1.5-2.5 cm), but perhaps with stamens less exserted (M. Hines, pers. comm.); stems tend to be taller (4-7+ dm versus 2-5 dm) and more cespitose, with rhizomes short or absent (Cr, W); leaves tend to be larger (mostly 7-14 x 0.8-3 cm versus 4-8 x 0.5-1 cm) and more deeply serrated. Uncertain records mapped here (with open dots) deserve closer inspection; they may be referred to "speciosa" in some cases.