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Low-growing perennial, very variable, densely tufted, 5-15-(25) cm high, or with prostrate rooting stems with leafy tufts at nodes, often mat-forming, usually reddish-tinged, or submersed. Stems slender, ± swollen at nodes, rooting. Leaves setaceous, short, (very narrow and grass-like in some floating plants), transverse and longitudinal septa present but scarcely visible externally. Inflorescence very variable, unbranched, and few-flowered, or branched and open, with flowers only, or tufts of setaceous leaves with or without flowers. Flowers 2-6 in each cluster. Tepals c.2 mm long, acute, green to brown. Stamens 3-6. Capsule 2-3 mm long, ± = or > tepals, yellowish-brown, oblong to obovate, obtuse, subacute or ± retuse.
Stems usually elongate, creeping or floating, producing several capillary lvs and a short flowering branch from the nodes; infl small, scarcely branched, with 1–6 obpyramidal glomerules of 3–10 fls each; fls eprophyllate; tep linear-oblong, acute, subequal, 3–3.5 mm; stamens 3(6); fr unilocular, trigonously oblong-prismatic, blunt or mucronulate, 3.2–4 mm; 2n=40. Shallow water and wet shores; N.S. and Nf.; Pacific coast; Europe. (J. supinus)
