[3] Euryale is an annual or perennial, rhizomatous, aquatic herb with erect, unbranched rhizomes.

The abaxial leaf surface is violet and displays prominent, prickly venation.

[4] The prickly fruit bears 8–20[8] black,[5] arillate,[4] spherical, ovate, obovate, or ellipsoidal[9] 6-10 mm wide seeds[7] with a hard, smooth, wrinkled,[10] gnarled, or irregularly ridged testa.

[5] Flies and solitary bees visit the flowers of Euryale ferox.

[29] The IUCN conservation status of Euryale ferox is least concern (LC).

[30] Today, Euryale only occurs in the region spanning from Northern India to the Russian Far East, and extends to temperate East Asia[3] but the fossil record shows it was once also present in central Europe.