Robust small to medium Cryptocoryne with narrow, lance-shaped, medium green leaves. It has a dense, bushy growth habit or forms taller groups that resemble grass. C. x willisii "lucens" closely resembles Cryptocoryne parva but grows much taller and faster. It differs from Cryptocoryne x willisii "nevillii", which is equally hardy, as its leaves are more elongated in shape and grow taller than those of the latter when cultivated submerged.