[4][5] Several specific names have been coined within the genus, but at present only one is recognized: Stratiotes aloides.

[2] moved to other genera: Enhalus Hydrocleys Ottelia The leaves are serrate and very brittle, breaking easily when handled.

The plant appears to be associated with calcareous waters and there is a suggestion that changing levels of calcium carbonate on the leaves may explain the floating and submerging behaviour.

The rare dragonfly, the Norfolk hawker (Aeshna isosceles), relies on the presence of Stratiotes aloides as a food source for the smaller insects on which it feeds.

Several fossil seeds of †Stratiotes kaltennordheimensis have been extracted from borehole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland.