It is native to eastern North America, from Texas east to Florida, north to Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

In the north of its range, in Canada, this species is particularly associated with shorelines of lakes and rivers, in the seasonally flooded zone.

[4] In Nova Scotia, it occurs in wet meadows on seasonally flooded shorelines with rare shoreline species such as Plymouth Gentian.

[5] In the south, such as in Texas, it is found in wet savannas and flatwoods.

Hence, it appears that this species depends upon recurring natural disturbance to maintain open sunny conditions.