Procumbent on wet ground or floating on water, rooting at the nodes, the stem hollow. Leaves mostly hastate, the terminal lobe narrowly triangular or lanceolate, the basal lobes smaller and spreading or almost absent, 4-12 cm long, apically acute or obtuse, glabrate. Flowers solitary or in few-flowered cymes. Sepals ovate-oblong, 7 mm long, obtuse or subacute, glabrous. Corolla white or purple, 4-5 cm long. Fruit capsular, ovoid to globose, 8-10 mm long. Seeds densely soft-pilose or glabrous.

Fl. Per.: Usually all the year.

Type: Yemen, Zepid, Forskal (C, holotype, BM, isotype).

Sind: F-4 Larkana, 26.4.1957, Ishfaq Ali s.n. (RAW), id., April 1958, Hussain s.n. (RAW), G-4 Karachi, Malir, 30.8.1957, Anwar Iqbal s.n. (KUH), Dokri, rice fields, Mushtaq Husain s.n. (KUH), Malir, 14.2.1963, Fahimuddin s.n. (KUH), Halegi Lake, M. Qaiser 413 (KUH), Sajawal to Karachi, Qaiser & Raza 673 (KUH), Gharo to Thatta, Sultanul Abedin 5224 (KUH), Punjab : D-6, Mianwali, Kazmi 5.393 (PES).

Distribution: A native of the Old World tropics, introduced into the Americas.

This is a popular pot-herb in some areas. The dried juice is used as a laxative.