Because the plant lives in a gravelly environment with periodic flooding, sand and rocks can cover up these horizontal connections.

[6] When it is not flowering, Cumberland rosemary may resemble other plants with needlelike leaves such as Aster linariifolius, Hypericum densiflorum, and Pycnanthemum tenuifolium.

It relies on periodic flooding to eliminate taller plants which might leave Cumberland rosemary in the shade.

[9] Extended flooding may induce rooting at the lower stem nodes[10] and disperse seeds and viable plant fragments downstream.

[11] It has been hypothesized Cumberland rosemary may thrive with alternating floods and extreme droughts, as this regime helps eliminate competition, but data is lacking on this.

Fish and Wildlife Service did not designate a critical habitat for Cumberland rosemary at the time of its federal listing.

FWS stated that they would contact private landowners who have colonies of Cumberland rosemary growing on their property.

In 1975, The Smithsonian Institution included Cumberland Rosemary in a review of threatened, endangered, or extinct plant species.

FWS funded a survey of the plant in Tennessee and Kentucky from 1979 to 1981, and declared Cumberland rosemary as a category 1 species, meaning that the agency has enough information to classify it as endangered or threatened.

Fish and Wildlife Service officially proposed Cumberland rosemary as “threatened” in January 1991.

[18] The biggest threat faced by Cumberland rosemary is habitat degradation affecting the rivers.

[19] Cumberland rosemary can be found in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, a popular site for camping, hiking, and white water-rafting.

[19] In recent years, invasive exotic species such as tree-of-heaven and mimosa have threatened the population in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.

The National Park Service designated various sites—some of which overlap with the Cumberland rosemary population—to control these invasive species.

[23] The recovery plan predicted a completion date of 2005, but as of 2018 Cumberland Rosemary is still considered threatened.

[24] Although much of Cumberland rosemary's population is found on National Park Service land, there have not been changes made to the trails on BSFNRRA to guide visitors away from the plant.