This plant is quite variable in size, especially the leaves.
The leaves are edible raw in salads, or cooked as a pot herb.
Several species in this genus are used in aquaria and ponds, and they have escaped to become invasive pests in several countries, including Britain, some Pacific islands and Australia.
They grow rapidly (in Australia, H. ranunculoides is said to double its biomass in 3 days) and are very hard to control.