Leaves twisted, 30-120 cm × 3-10 mm, apex acuminate. Scapes terete, ca. 70 cm; bracts ovate, apex acuminate. Flowers numerous; pedicels 4-10 cm. Sepals pinkish white, greenish outside along midvein. Petals pinkish white. Filaments flat-tened, broadened toward base. Styles curved. Seeds small. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep. 2n = 20 or 40, with aneuploid counts of 16, 22, 24, 26, 28, 39, 42.

Still or slow-moving water of lakes, ponds, and channels. Anhui, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Nei Mongol, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Xinjiang [Afghanistan, India, Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan; SW Asia, Europe; introduced in North America].