Recorded from seepage areas and savanna bogs.

This species is subject to a variety of threats including the loss or degradation of wetland habitat, often through conversion for cultivation, housing, and the development of recreational areas; direct use of and drift from herbicides (particularly on roadside areas); invasive exotic species such as kudzu Pueraria lobata, Chinese privet, and Japanese Honeysuckle Microstigium; suppression and elimination of the natural processes essential for the maintenance of bog habitat (for example, through fire, or the activities of beavers); and direct collection of the species (more recently, seed collection has threatened smaller subpopulations).

S. psittacina is currently listed on CITES Appendix II.