This is rare through much of its northeastern range, at least in the southern Appalachian extensions; its only congener (A. asiatica) occurs in northeast Asia. In Ky. Adlumia is known only from a few old records in the Cumberland Mountains; the last may have been in 1984. It is an extraordinary biennial herbaceous vine of rocky woods, usually on sandy soils, producing a rosette in the first year, then climbing up to 3-4 m with "cirrhose" tendrils from rachises and petiolules in the second year. Some records suggest association with fire or other disturbance. According to F, the species is "often cultivated and frequently escaping". It is occasionally grown in Ky. (J. Michler, pers. comm.).but persistent escapes outside its range are virtually unknown (Allen 2017).