Aquatic or semi-aquatic herb with floating leaves. Leaves 5-7 cm long, 6-8 cm broad, glabrous; petiole up to 34 cm long, sulcate, minutely hairy. Inflorescence an unbranched scapose raceme, up to 45 cm long, minutely hairy towards apex. Flowers in 2-6 whorls of 2-3 flowers each, lower whorls with bisexual, upper ones with male flowers, c. 1.5 cm across, white; pedicel stout, 1-2 cm long, thickened and elongated up to 3.5 cm in fruit; bracts elliptic, 8-15 mm long, obtuse with membranous margins. Sepals ovate-elliptic, 8-10 mm long, 6-9 mm broad, acute. Petals obovate-suborbicular, yellow-spotted at the base, larger than the sepals. Stamens with c. 2-3 mm long, papillate filaments. Head of achenes c. 1 cm across, achenes flat, elliptic, 3-4 mm long, with distinctly blunt toothed dorsal wing.

Fl. Per.: August-November.

Type: Described from Nepal, Buchanan-Hamilton (BM).

Distribution: Tropical Africa and tropical and subtropical Asia.