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Glabrous aquatic plant with all its submerged parts covered with a profuse, clear, slimy mucilage. Leaves floating, rotund, peltate, 7.5 (10) x 5–7 cm., margin entire, green above, reddish-brown or purplish below, nerves 12, radiating from the apex of the petiole, rather faint, petiole reddish-brown, attached at the centre of the leaf-blade, up to 1 m. or more long according to the depth of the water, c. 1.5 mm. in diam. Flowers solitary, axillary on reddish-brown peduncles up to c. 8 cm. long, c. 2 mm. in diam. Sepals purplish-brownish-red, petaloid, c. 1.4 x 0.3 cm., narrowly oblong, apex rounded. Petals similar to the sepals but slightly larger. Stamens with slender papillose filaments up to 1 cm. long; anthers reddish, 3.5 mm. long, narrowly oblong, apiculate at the apex. Carpels 5 x 2 mm., narrowly lanceolate-ovoid, sparsely papillose, stigma simple, 3 mm. long, papillose. Ripe carpels 7 x 2 mm., ellipsoid with a persistent stigma. Seeds 3.5 x 2.3 mm., ellipsoid, testa pale brown.