Sagittaria platyphylla is a perennial herb up to 150 centimetres (59 inches) tall, producing underground corms (similar to tubers).

[3][4][5][6] The core of its range extends from central Texas to the Florida Panhandle north to southern Illinois.

[9] Isolated populations have been reported from Washington state, Oregon, Missouri, Kansas, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, eastern Virginia, North and South Carolina and eastern Georgia, Nuevo León, Michoacán and Panama.

[10] On August 6, 2015 S. platyphylla was found for the first time in China, specifically in the Yangtze River Basin.

It presents a significant threat to the ecology and economy of the Yangtze area, especially to agricultural irrigation.