Spiraea virginiana Britton is a Southern Appalachian endemic that occurs exclusively in the southern Blue Ridge and Appalachian Plateau physiographic provinces. Although S. virginiana exhibits great phenotypic plasticity, it is allopatric with the taxon it most closely resembles, S. betulifolia Pallas var. corymbosa (Raf.) Wenzig. The two species have several overlapping phenotypic characters and are both quite variable but may be generally distinguished by leaf and flower characters, plant size, habitat, and distribution. Character states and general distribution are given for both species and detailed distribution is given for S. virginiana.