(See notes on generic concept under Frangula caroliniana.) In Ky. this midwestern species is largely restricted to the Bluegrass region, within limestone ravines along the Kentucky Rv. and at scattered sites near the Ohio Rv. A report from SCOT along North Elkhorn Creeek has not been verified (Wharton & Barbour 1991). The species has also been recently discovered in CUMB and WAYN along the Cumberland Rv. (NP). Further south there are disjunct clusters of records in the Nashville Basin of Tenn. and in the Blackbelt of Miss. and Ala. (K). Previous reports from EDMO (DHL) were based on a misidentified coll. of Ilex decidua. Colls. from JEFF (MM for WKY), PEND (KNK in part), FAYE (KY in part) and perhaps elsewhere are referable to var. glabrata Gleason. Typical lanceolata may be largely Appalachian (W), but further study is needed. Although some Eurasian species of Rhamnus sensu lato (including cathartica and davurica) are dioecious or somewhat so, this condition has not been reported in North American allies. Darwin (1862) reported heterostyly in lanceolata, and further investigation is warranted. E. lanceolata in Ky. is generally a small tree without multiple sprouts, up to 1-2 m tall. However, it can reach 3-4 m in the central section of its range, where it often occurs on deeper damper soil as well as rocky bluffs (Y); see Lonicera prolifera for somewhat parallel variation. E. lanceolata may have declined during recent decades across much of its range, especially in Ill. (Ebinger et al. 2020), Ind. (M. Homoya, pers. comm.) and Ohio (D. Boone, pers. comm.); one factor could be competition from alien shrubs, especially L. maackii. Initial attempts to grow this species in Lexington (FAYE) have failed, apparently due to girdling by rabbits or voles.