Dry sandy jack pine, oak, aspen savanna; fields, dunes (Huron Co.), and prairies. An old collection by O. A. Farwell (626, BLH) labeled as collected in Keweenaw Co. in 1888, is so far from other documented sites as to be very dubious and is not mapped.

This is a short species, with few heads, that prefers very dry settings. The involucres are ± cylindrical or conical, and heads are often on pedicels longer than the involucres. The white-flowered f. bartelii Steyerm. is not common. An uncommon hybrid with L. aspera has been named L. ×gladewitzii (Farw.) Shinners. This hybrid has also been collected in Ionia Co. and at Whitmore Lake (Washtenaw or Livingston Cos.). It is a more robust plant than L. cylindracea, the inflorescence more spicate (heads short-stalked), and the stems usually at least sparsely pubescent. The heads are bell-shaped to hemispherical.