This is a largely northeastern species is a shrub or small tree (1-7 m tall) that occurs south along the higher Appalachians to Ga. In Tenn. There are at least three reported ploidies; 2n = 34, ?40, 54 and 68 (IPCN; FNA 9). It was recently found by JC (for KY) in BELL at the crest of Pine Mt. on the Golden tract (later transferred to the Ky. Div. of Forestry), and J. Kiser (pers. comm.) collected it (for EKY) from LETC, in a sandstone glade on the Pine Mt. Wildlife Management Area. Wiegand's (1912) report from Ky. of the hybrid between A. humilis Wieg. and A. laevis is also notable; humilis is closely related to sanguinea and sometimes included. A. sanguinea is also scattered along banks of the Obed Rv. and elsewhere on the Cumberland Plateau in Tenn. (Schmalzer et al. 1985; Ch; D. Estes, pers. comm.). With recent revision, sanguinea (or humilis) can generally be distinguished from congeners in eastern states as follows (FNA 9, W): margins of mature leaves with 2-6 teeth per cm (versus 4-6+); lateral leaf veins or their forks usually extending into teeth (versus becoming indistinct near margin); ovary summit densely lanuginose (versus glabrous to densely lanuginose). Leaves have varied shapes: elliptic-oblong to suborbiculate or obovate, mostly 4-6 × 2-5 cm.