This section is from the book "British Wild Flowers - In Their Natural Haunts Vol5-6", by A. R. Horwood. Also available from Amazon: A British Wild Flowers In Their Natural Haunts.
The habitat of this plant is wet ground, ditches, often near the sea, damp watery places. The plant has the rosette habit. There is a short rootstock. The stem is erect, with prostrate or ascending branches, rooting at the base. The radical leaves form a rosette. The leaves are inversely ovate or spoon-shaped, blunt or shortly pointed, entire, fleshy. The stem-leaves are alternate. The flowers are numerous, white, borne on an erect raceme. The ultimate flower-stalks ascend. The bracts are adnate above the middle, small, and lance-shaped. The tube of the calyx is hemispherical, with triangular, acute lobes, and adheres to the ovary. The corolla-lobes are short and blunt, the corolla small, with a crown. The stamens are included. The capsule is round, with rough seeds. The plant is 1-2 ft. in height, usually 8-12 in. It flowers from June to September, and is a herbaceous perennial.
 
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