This riparian shrub is restricted to central and southern Appalachian regions or adjacent hills, with several disjunct populations in different watersheds (K). It is considered threatened or endangered in all states, but populations may be relatively stable so long as natural flooding regimes are continued (NS). More colls. are needed for herbaria and arboreta. Plants in Ky. and Ohio appear to become larger and less compact than some further south on the Cumberland Plateau. S. virginiana has sometimes been confused with S. corymbosa Raf., which is a smaller shrub largely restricted to rocky woods of the Blue Ridge or nearby (Ogle 1991; K, M, W). It is susceptible to browsing by beaver, as documented in N.Car. by Rossell et al. (2013), but they also stated: "Although more information is needed to determine the long-term impacts, we suspect that in the short-term, S. virginiana may benefit from the levels of browsing found in this study. Field observations suggest that beaver foraging stimulates asexual reproduction of S. virginiana by inducing rhizomatous growth. Beaver also may help S. virginiana with dispersal, as fresh cuttings are often left at feeding sites and then may be transported downstream for rooting." Seedlings are rarely established (Brzyski & Culley 2011). Insense browsing by beaver has also been observed in Ky. by T. Littlefield et al. (KSNPC, pers. comm.) along Sinking Creek (LAUR).