HABIT	AN AQUATIC OR SUB-AQUATIC PERENNIAL HERB THAT MAY BE EMERGENT, MAY BE ANCHORED, WITH HORIZONTAL EXTENSIONS OVER THE WATER SURFACE, OR MAY BE FREE FLOATING.
STEMS	STEMS UP TO 1 M; HORIZONTAL STEMS UP TO 4 M, NORMALLY GLABROUS, WITH LONG, FIBROUS ROOTS, AS WELL AS ADVENTITIOUS, MODIFIED, SPINDLE-SHAPED, NODAL AEROPHORES OR AIR ROOTS, THAT GROW ERECT AND MAY EXTEND ABOVE THE WATER SURFACE. STEMS ARE YELLOW-GREEN OR REDDISH IN SOME AREAS.
LEAVES	ALTERNATE, BROADLY OBLONG-ELLIPTIC, ROUNDED OR OBTUSE AT APEX, UP TO 10 CM LONG, 4 CM WIDE, NARROWED AT THE BASE TO A DISTINCT PETIOLE WHICH MAY BE RED.
FLOWERS	BORNE SINGLY AT UPPER LEAF AXILS; BRIGHT YELLOW TO VERY PALE YELLOW OR WHITE, UP TO 2 CM LONG.
FRUITS	A CAPSULE THICK-WALLED, WOODY, 2 TO 3 CM LONG AND 3 MM IN DIAMETER, MORE OR LESS CYLINDRICAL, OFTEN SOME-WHAT CURVED, SURMOUNTED AT APEX BY CALYX, GLABROUS OR WITH SOFT LONG HAIRS, 5-LOCULAR, LIGHT BROWN WITH 10 CONSPICUOUS DARKER BROWN RIBS, SEEDS EVIDENT AS BUMPS BETWEEN THE RIBS, IRREGULARLY DEHISCENT, BASE NARROWED.
SEEDS	PALE BROWN, MANY IN ORDERLY ROWS, SOME 4-ANGLED AND SOME PRISMOID, 1 TO 2 MM IN SIZE, FIRMLY IMBEDDED IN OHERENT CUBES OF WOODY ENDOCARP WHICH ARE FUSED TO CAPSULE WALL.