Logging operations should be confined to areas outside riparian buffer zones. Livestock grazing should also be reduced in areas where Cumberland sandreed grows. Description Herbaceous, perennial plants forming dense colonies from shallow, horizontal, underground stems that may root at the nodes. Leaves are clustered near the bottom of the plant imparting a tufted appearance. The sheath margins of Cumberland are not fused.
Blades are broad at the base and taper to a very fine tip.
Blade margins have sharp downwardly pointing teeth that can easily tear flesh. These bracts do not end in fine needlelike tips. The lower two bracts are called glumes, the middle one is the lemma, and the upper most the palea. Glumes are firm and unequal in length with one prominent rib. Lemmas are shorter than to equal in length with the second glume.