Found in still and shallow water from June to September.

The leaves and flowers, on their long, smooth stems, rise to the surface of the water from the submerged root.

The leaf is large (from 6 to 12 inches in length), of a long oval shape, heart-shaped at the base, and blunt-pointed at the tip, with an entire margin; its fibre is tough and leathery, and its surface exceedingly smooth and shining. Its color is a strong light green, lighter underneath. The stem is large and half-cylindrical; the leaf floats on the water, or rises above it.

The large flower is almost spherical in form, with 6 large, rounded, concave, petal-like parts, somewhat unequal in size; the 3 smaller parts are green without, and a dull reddish-orange color within; the other 3 larger parts are yellow, with small green patches at the base. The large pistil is marked on the top with a 12- or 24-pointed star, the rays of which are yellow on an orange-red ground. The stamens are many, like loops of yellow ribbon which curl back and almost entirely fill the hollow flower-cup. The stem is large, round, and green, and the flower rises above the level of the water.

A flower of primitive type; the combination of yellow and red in the star design of the pistil is suggestive of Egyptian color and design. The half-round leaf-stem with its flat grooved side is an unusual variation on the common form.