This southeastern species occurs mostly on the Coastal Plain east of the Mississippi Rv. (Miss. to N.Y.), plus disjunct localities in the southern Interior Low Plateaus and southern Appalachians (FNA 23, K). The only Ky. record is a coll. from CALL (EKY): L.E. McKinney #4195 22 May 1990, seep along Dalton Road off Ky. 280, parallel to lake shore. C. venusta differs from debilis in its more crowded spikes, ca. 4-5 mm thick (versus 2-3 mm) and ca. 1-5 cm long (versus 2.5-8 cm), with internodes 1-1.5 (3) mm (versus 2-4 (9) mm); 2n = 42-50 (versus 50-56). Pistillate scales are often tinged reddish-brown along sides (versus whitish), and at least half as long as perigynia (versus less than half). The coll. from CALL has glabrous perigynia.