It also serves the added benefit of oxygenating the water and absorbing ammonia, which is toxic to most aquatic animals.

[1] Long, up to 60 inches (150 cm) (or longer), tough, ribbon-like bright green leaves grow from a bulb that looks much like an onion.

White lily-like flowers may form on a long stalk emerging above the water's surface.

In some habitats, it is already extinct due to excessive collection of their bulbs for commercial purposes, dredging under flooding control schemes, and land use changes.

A special management and conservation plan is urgently needed to reduce decrease and extinction.