Herbs , young vegetative parts heavily coated with mucilage. Leaves floating; petiole long. Leaf blade elliptic. Flowers: sepals 3, not petaloid, linear-oblong to narrowly ovate; petals 3, linear-oblong, lacking auricles, base not clawed; stamens 18-36(-51), opposite both sepals and petals; pistils 4-18, simple, 1-locular; ovules (1-)2; stigma linear-decurrent. Fruits slightly to strongly fusiform. Seeds ovoid, tubercles absent. x = 40.

Brasenia is known from the fossil record in Europe although it is not known to grow there currently.

Sep somewhat petaloid, colored within; stamens 12-18, or reputedly to 36; filaments of 2 lengths; anthers introrse, pistils 4-8; submerged parts covered with a mucilaginous jelly; lvs alternate, mostly crowded near the summit, long-petioled, with floating, centrally peltate blade. Monospecific

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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