General:
Perennial, aquatic herb from fine, tufted roots; stems up to 100 cm long, sparsely branched.

Leaves:
All submersed, linear, the sides parallel, soft, light to olive-green, 3-8 cm long, 2-4 mm wide, usually with 3 to 5 veins, the tips rounded, the stipules 0.5-2 cm long, delicate, not fibrous, greenish or brownish, not shredding at the tips, the margins overlapping.

Flowers:
Inflorescence spikelike, the spikes 0.5-1.5 cm long, with 3 to 8 whorls of flowers, the stalks thin; bases of winter buds soft, smooth.

Fruits:
Achenes, egg-shaped, 3-4 mm long, 1.5-2.5 mm wide, widest above the middle, the beaks short, the keels absent.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia