[2][3] This perennial herb produces stolons from its branching rootstock, spreading to form patches on the ground.

The leaves are all basal, borne on bluish petioles up to 30 centimeters long.

The leaf blades are heart-shaped or kidney-shaped, with wavy, scalloped edges.

The open flower has two membranous sepals that join to form a spathe.

[3] Extracts of this plant have been effective at eliminating the freshwater snail Oncomelania hupensis, the intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum, a fluke that causes schistosomiasis.