Herbs aquatic, from submerged rhizomes; stems 8-150 cm long, to 6 mm in diam, ascending, green, glandular (?) dotted near the apex, succulent, weak, vertically septate with several continuous air spaces, the stems with a single terminal leaf or usually branching near the apex to give rise to an inflorescence and additional leaves. Leaves orbicular to subovate, cordate at the base, often deeply so, obtuse at the apex, often becoming emarginate-on the larger leaves, 2-18 cm in diam, succulent, green above, dark reddish-violet beneath, coriaceous. Inflorescences of many fascicled flowers, appearing umbellate, axillary. Flowers white, 1-8 cm long, pedicellate, the pedicels (mature) 3-7 cm long, succulent, glandular (?) dotted, erect to suberect; calyx-lobes lanceolate, acute to short apiculate at the apex, the margins scarious, 4.5-8 mm long; corolla 1-1.8 cm long, the lobes ovate to ovate-oblong, acute at the apex, very membranous, + transparent when dried, 8-12 mm long, conspicuously fimbriate, the hairs 1-3 mm long, the lobes fused near the base; stamens introrse, 5-7 mm long, the filaments ca 3-5 mm long, ? flattened, the anthers 2 mm long, sagittate and spreading at the base; pistil 9-12 mm long, the ovary ellipsoid, sessile, 3-5 mm long, the style cylindrical, the stigma lobes to 1 mm long, flattened. Capsules indehiscent and eventually rupturing irreguarly, ellipsoid, 4--6 mm long, ca 10-18-seeded the persistent style rostrate; seeds orbicular, slightly flattened dorsiventrally, 1-1.2 mm long, shiny.
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