[1] The leaves have oval or spatula-shaped serrated blades up to 8 or 9 centimeters (3.1 or 3.5 inches) long by 4 or 5 cm (1.5 or 2 in) wide, becoming smaller toward the end of the stem.

[1] Other plants in this type of habitat and the surrounding forest include white baneberry (Actaea pachypoda), northern maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum), jack in the pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), yellow mandarin (Disporum lanuginosum), smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), Indian cucumber-root (Medeola virginiana), Nepalese browntop (Microstegium vimineum), partridge berry (Mitchella repens), clearweed (Pilea pumila), Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), great rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum), poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), and maple-leaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium).

[6] Conservation activities include the installation of small fences around the plants and the redirection of trails through less sensitive habitat.

[3] The main threat to this species is damage to its habitat during recreational activities in this section of the Daniel Boone National Forest.

Explorers invade the rock shelters and build fires, dump garbage, spread the seeds of invasive plants like garlic mustard, and dig in the soil for archaeological artifacts.