Distribution: Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains.

Habitat: Submerged in ponds and lakes, often in deep water, from the lowland to middle elevations in the mountains.

Origin: Native

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Aquatic perennial, submerged; rootstock buried and corm-like, nearly globose, with 2 lobes, corky, brown.

Leaves evergreen, simple, in tufts somewhat resembling grass, spirally arranged on top of stem, erect to spreading, rigid and brittle, less than 20 cm, linear above base, tapered to apex, dark green with brown-white base.

Sporangia solitary, embedded in enlarged leaf base, less than 1 cm, less than 1/2 covered by a translucent membrane, male or female; male spores less than 10,000, 0.035-0.045 mm, somewhat bean-shaped, gray in mass; female spores 20-200, 0.5-0.7 mm, ridged, tubercled.