[5] The species is narrowly endemic to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the southeastern United States.

Tiarella nautila is a perennial, herbaceous plant with a short, slender rhizome.

It has a leafy flowering stem and relatively large basal leaves with an extended terminal lobe.

Except for the flowering stem, the key features listed above are identical to those of Tiarella wherryi, so distinguishing the two species may be difficult.

[2] Tiarella nautila is narrowly endemic to the southeastern United States where it occurs mainly in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia and adjacent North Carolina and Tennessee.