Hydrocera triflora (L.) Wight & Arn.

Plants perennial, hydrophytic, glabrous. Stem erect, to 1 m tall, fleshy, many branched; underwater part white, ca. 4 mm in diam., with fibrous roots; above water part green, often pink-tinged. Leaves alternate, sessile or shortly petiolate, with 1 pair of sessile basal glands; leaf blade pale green abaxially, dark green adaxially, linear or linear-lanceolate, 10-20 × 0.6-1.5 cm, lateral veins 10-17 pairs, base cuneate, margin serrate, apex acute or acuminate. Racemes 3-5-flowered; peduncles 0.7-1.6 cm. Pedicel 1.2-3 cm, slender, bracteate at base; bracts caducous, lanceolate, 6-9 mm, apex acute or acuminate. Flowers pink or yellowish. Lateral sepals 4; outer 2: 1.2-1.5 × ca. 0.8 cm, apex slightly acute or obtuse; inner 2: 1-1.5 × ca. 1.2 cm, apex obtuse. Lower sepal navicular, 1.5-2 cm deep, mouth vertical, abruptly constricted into an incurved spur; spur 6-8 mm. Upper petal subcucullate, obovate, 1.5-1.9 × 1.2-1.5 cm, apex mucronulate; lateral petals 4, all free; upper 2 elliptic to elliptic-obovate, 1.3-1.5 cm × 7-9 mm; lower 2 narrowly oblong, 2-2.5 cm × 6-8 mm, apex slightly obtuse. Stamens 5, 0.9-1.1 cm; anthers obtuse. Ovary glabrous. Fruit purple-red at maturity, globose, 0.8-1 cm. Seeds 1 per locule, rugose. Fl. and fr. Sep-Nov. 2n = 16.

Locally common in ditches, pools, rice fields and marshy places, usually in the lowland. Still or stagnant water in pools, lakes, rice fields, marshy places and ditches with the lower parts of the stem submerged.

The tender shoots are mixed with other leafy vegetables and cooked.

Can be grown by seedlings.