This diploid (2n = 34) species of the Great Plains does not appear to be native in eastern states, except for a few possibly adventive records in northern regions (Cr, Y, W). In Ky. there were no records before Beckett (1956), but one or more cultivars have been widely promoted in recent decades for supposed wildflower meadows and wildlife benefits. Persistent plantings and escapes are widely scattered and sometimes misinterpreted as native.