Less common than S. lanceolata but in similar habitats: river bank thickets and floodplains; forests (especially at borders and in clearings); roadsides. The Emmet Co. record is based on an 1886 collection from Petoskey, and the species has not been noted since. It may have been a transient introduction (or possibly a labeling error).

Not always easily distinguished from S. lanceolata, though frequently taller and more branched. The sides of the stem in S. marilandica are usually ± grooved or channeled, while in the other species the sides are usually flat or slightly convex, and the leaves of the latter are often more irregularly toothed (even somewhat incised toward the base).