This Appalachian species occurs mostly at higher elevation. It appears generally distinct from typical caesia, with little or no intergradation, but these closely related taxa are often confused. Typical plants are diploids (2n = 18); robust plants may be polyploids that are confused or hybridized with flaccidifolia (or even flexicaulis). Harvill (1941) reported var. pubens (M.A. Curtis) Gray from HARL (coll. burned at KY); this is a relatively hairy, broader-leaved variant that may be transitional to flaccidifolia, and is verified only in the Blue Ridge of Va. and N.C. (FNA 20).