Panicles congested. Inner sepals rust-colored in fruit. Seeds 3.

Flowering late spring–summer; fruiting summer–fall. Sandhills, pine barrens; 0–30 m; Ala., Fla., Ga., Miss., N.C., S.C.; Central America (Belize).

Variety congesta has an unusual disjunct distribution. It is widespread across the coastal plain from North Carolina to Mississippi at elevations below 30 m and also occurs in sandy pine-oak woodlands at approximately 500 m in the Cayo District of Belize.