This occurs in southern Appalachian regions and scattered disjunct localities westward to Ark., mostly on mesic to subxeric wooded slopes with base-rich rocky soils. It is generally rare and deserves global listing for protection; the only states where it is not considered threatened or endangered are Ark, and N.Car. (NS). In Ky. it is known only from a few records in the Cumberland Mts. and the Shawnee Hills, plus two sites in POWE discovered by D. Dourson during the 1990s (coll. to D. Taylor for EKY). Causes of its rarity remain somewhat mysterious, since potential habitat is still widespread; deer browsing (and perhaps past damage from roaming livestock) may be a significant factor at many sites (Hill 2003c).