[2][3][4] It is native to the southeastern United States, where it occurs on the Atlantic coastal plain from North Carolina to Georgia, as well as the Chesapeake Bay area.

The inflorescence is a compound umbel of many small flowers with white petals and red-tinged green sepals.

[6] They eat the stem, separating the inflorescence and sometimes preventing sexual reproduction; however, the plant more often reproduces asexually via cloning.

The plant grows in a variety of wetland habitat types, including bays, sloughs, wet savannas, and ponds.

[6] Other plants in the habitat may include Ilex myrtifolia, Nyssa biflora, Taxodium ascendens, Pinus serotina, Stillingia aquatica, Rhynchospora tracyi, Rhynchospora inundata, Manisuris rugosa, Rhexia aristosa, Polygala cymosa, Pluchea rosea, Lobelia boykinii, and Hypericum denticulatum.