This short-lived perennial is a tetraploid (2n= 36). It was first reported from Ky. in 1943 (B), and it is now locally abundant on dry base-rich soils across the state. Following Ochsmann (2001), an alternative name has been recently adopted in some treatments (FNA 19; Y, W): C. stoebe L. ssp. micranthos (S.G. Gmelin ex Gugler) Hayek. Typical stobe (= C. maculosa auct.) is a diploid annual. The two taxa have become largely sympatric in Europe, but biebersteinii appears to have had a more western range before forest clearance. A related species, C. montana L. is somestimes cultivated as an ornamental. It is s not known to escape in Ky. or elsewhere in southeastern states, but it has escaped in northern states and adjacent Canada (FNA 19; W).