Nardoo is an aquatic fern with two pairs of leaflets arranged in a four-leaf clover pattern. The fronds are erect when growing in mud and floating when growing in water. The flexible stems allow the plant to adapt to changes in water level.
Nardoo grows from a creeping rhizome. This is an underground stem capable of producing the shoot and root systems of a new plant. This enables the plant to propagate asexually and also to survive harsh conditions underground.
When water recedes, nardoo turns brown and forms sporocarps (capsules containing spores). These were used by Aboriginal people for food.