It is a rhizomatous perennial aquatic fern that roots in mud substrates and produces herbage that floats on the surface of quiet water bodies.

[4] It can form mats on the water's surface and cover the ground in carpets as floodwaters recede.

The plant produces sporocarps which can remain viable for 50 years and only release spores after being thoroughly soaked.

[3] The sporocarp is used for food by Aboriginal Australians, who collect, roast and grind them to powder which they mix with water to make a dough.

[4][5] The earliest specimen in an Australian herbarium is MEL 0052999A, which was collected by Alan Cunningham in 1825 in the Brigalow Belt South region out of Gunnedah in the locality of Curlewis.