In temperate regions the plant goes dormant in the winter, forming turions of about 4–6 mm (3⁄16–1⁄4 in) and sinking to the bottom.

In temperate regions, the plant reproduces mostly via asexual means, producing inviable seeds or no flower at all.

The leaf structure is very similar to the Dionaea (commonly known as the Venus flytrap), the main difference being air chambers present in the "stem".

The mechanism by which the trap snaps shut involves a complex interaction between elasticity, turgor and growth.

The two genera have been shown to share a most recent common ancestor by analysis of combined nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequences.

[17] Despite being endangered in its native range, it was introduced in the U.S. and has been reported to be rapidly spreading in the waters of the Catskill Mountains of New York, USA, where it is being evaluated as a potentially problematic invasive species.