Aquatic or amphibious herb; corm 2-or 3-lobed, 5–25 mm wide. Leaves 5–20, spirally arranged, erect or recurved, 3–38 cm long, 1–1.5 mm diam., firm or flexible, bright green; base to 15 mm wide, white; peripheral fibre strands and internal hairs absent; stomata numerous, sometimes distally restricted; trans-lacunar diaphragms obvious; ligule triangular, 1–2 mm long; labium minute or absent. Sporangia round, elliptic to obovate, 2–9 mm long, 2–5 mm wide, semi-translucent, pale whitish or brown; velum covering 15–100% of sporangium. Microspores spinose, rarely almost smooth, fawn-brown. Megaspores Types I, IIA, and III, 0.25–0.75 mm diam.; all faces cristate, reticulate or tuberculate; Type IIA often almost smooth, drying white to dark grey.
Occurs in a broad range of habitats from permanent, subalpine tarns to ephemeral swamps and rockpools. It is frequently found growing among moss around rock pools supporting Isoetes australis , or on banks of lakes in which I. gunnii and I. humilior occur. It has only occasionally been found growing in swamps with I. drummondii subsp. drummondii and I. attenuata .
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