This occurs mostly in the central and southern Appalachians, but it may also be disjunct in the Ouachita Mts. (FNA 26, W). It occurs in or near the Cliff Section of the Appalachian Plateaus, but with its range curiously interrupted between Lee Co., Ky., and Scott Co., Tenn. Plants are usually restricted to thin subxeric or xeric woods on acid sandy soils, especially along trails and in burned areas. Typical verna is largely restricted to the Atlantic Coastal Plain with virtually no overlap in range; but 2n = 42 in both taxa, according to FNA 26.