White Water-lily - Nymphaea alba
Leaves circular in outline, the basal lobes parallel or diverging, all floating. Flowers white with a male of pale yellow anthers 10 to 20 cm held at water level and with 20 or more petals. Fragrant and with rounded buds.
Coloured Water-lily (N x marliacea) is very similar, but petals with at least a tinge of colour
Pure white flowers
Photograph of the flowering plant. This cannot be verified from the leaves, due to similar hybrid species, Nymphaea x marliacea
Lakes and ponds, slow moving rivers and still water rooting in muddy bottoms to a depth of 3 metres.
July and August.
Perennial, sometimes planted.
Widespread but occasional in Britain.
Occasional in Leicestershire and Rutland. The Flora of Leicestershire published in 1988 states that it occurred in 15 of the 617 tetrads.
In the current checklist (Jeeves 2011), it is listed as subspecies alba; Alien (Neophyte); occasional.
Graham Calow
Croft Hill Lake
29 August 2014
Craig Mabbett
Lutterworth Country Park
04 July 2014
Ron.stevens
Broughton Astley lake
03 October 2013
Craig Mabbett
Lutterworth Country Park
04 July 2014
Leicestershire & Rutland Map
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Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015
UK Map
Species profile
- Common names
- White Water-lily, Waterlily
- Species group:
- Wildflowers
- Kingdom:
- Plantae
- Order:
- Nymphaeales
- Family:
- Nymphaeaceae
- Records on NatureSpot:
- 44
- First record:
- 21/06/2001 (Jane McPhail;John Kramer)
- Last record:
- 09/08/2024 (axon, kaye)
Total records by month
% of records within its species group
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