Taxon: Nymphaea alba L.

Summary

Genus:

Nymphaea

Subgenus:

Nymphaea

Section:

Nymphaea

Family:

Nymphaeaceae

Nomen number:

25429

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 1:510. 1753

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

12/01/1995 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

2 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Nymphaea alba L. f. alba (0 active accession[s])
Nymphaea alba L. f. rosea (C. Hartm.) Svenss. (0 active accession[s])

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Castalia alba (L.) Wood
Leuconymphaea alba (L.) Kuntze

Heterotypic Synonym(s)


Nymphaea alba L. subsp. occidentalis (Ostenf.) Hyl.
Nymphaea occidentalis (Ostenf.) Moss
Nymphaea erythrocarpa Hentze
Nymphaea venusta Hentze
Nymphaea urceolata Hentze
Nymphaea rotundifolia Hentze
Nymphaea parviflora Hentze
Nymphaea splendens Hentze
Nymphaea minoriflora (Simonk.) Wissjul.
Castalia minoriflora Simonk.
Nymphaea exumbonata Rupr.
Nymphaea melocarpa (Casp.) Asch. & Graebn.
Nymphaea alba L. var. melocarpa Casp.
Nymphaea officinalis Gaterau
Nymphaea polystigma E. H. L. Krause
Nymphaea suaveolens Dumort.
Nymphaea alba L. f. csepelensis Soó
Nymphaea alba L. f. limosa Soó
Castalia speciosa Salisb.
Nymphaea alba L. var. occidentalis Ostenf.

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Cannon, J. & M. Cannon. 1994. Dye plants and dyeing The Herbert Press & The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Castroviejo, S. et al., eds. 1989-. Flora iberica: plantas vasculares de la Peninsula Iberica e Islas Baleares.
Dafni, A. & M. Agami. 1976. Extinct plants of Israel. Biol. Conservation 10:49-52. Note: extinct in Israel
Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
Erhardt, W. et al. 2002. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 17. Auflage
Fennane, M. et al., eds. 1999-. Flore pratique du Maroc.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Fu, D.-Z. & J. H. Wiersema. 2001. Nymphaeaceae. In: Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds., Flora of China (English edition).
Giesen, T. G. & G. van der Velde. 1978. De verspreiding van Nymphaea candida Presl en Nymphaea alba L. in Nederland. Gorteria 9(3):61-66.
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
Grossheim, A. A. et al., eds. 1939-. Flora Kavkaza, ed. 2.
Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
Jonsell, B., ed. 2000. Flora nordica.
Kak, A. M. 1985. Aquatic and wetland vegetation of the north western Himalaya—XXI. Family Nymphaeaceae in the north western Himalaya. J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 7:591-598.
Kak, A. M. 1990. Aquatic and wetland vegetation of the Kashmir Himalaya. J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 14:10.
Khan, Z. et al. 1997. Aquatic plants of Iran and Pakistan: 8. Nymphaeaceae. Biologia (Lahore) 43:10.
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Koul, K. & A. R. Naqshi. 1988. Nymphaeaceae of Jammu and Kashmir. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 85:454-456.
Kumar, S. 2001. Flora of Haryana (Materials).
Laasimer, L. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of the Baltic countries; compendium of vascular plants.
McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Muntendam, J. B. et al. 1996. Morphometric patterns in the Nymphaea alba-candida complex. Acta Bot. Neerl. 45:279-302.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
Shetty, B. V. & V. Singh, eds. 1987-. Flora of India. Series 2: Flora of Rajasthan. Note: mentions
Singh, N. P., eds. 2002-. Flora of Jammu & Kashmir
Takhtajan, A. L., ed. 1954-1987. Flora Armenii.
Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1993. Flora europaea, ed. 2.
Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	white water-lily	1	Cannon, J. & M. Cannon. 1994. Dye plants and dyeing The Herbert Press & The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
French	nymphéa blanc	2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2002. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 17. Auflage
German	weiße Seerose	2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2002. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 17. Auflage
Swedish	vit näckros	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Algeria		n.	Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco			Fennane, M. et al., eds. 1999-. Flore pratique du Maroc.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Tunisia			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Armenia			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Azerbaijan			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation	Krasnodar		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation	Stavropol		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation	Chelyabinsk		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iran		n.	Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iraq			Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Israel		extinct	Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey			Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Jammu and Kashmir		Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Belarus			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Estonia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Latvia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Lithuania			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Moldova			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Astrakhan		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Baškortostan, Respublika		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Belgorod		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Bryansk		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Čuvašskaja Respublika		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Ivanovo		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Kaliningrad		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Kalužskaja oblast'		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Karelia		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Kursk		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Leningradskaja oblast'		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Lipeckaja oblast'		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Mordovija, Respublika		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Moscow		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Nizhniy Novgorod		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Novgorod		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Orel		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Orenburg		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Penza		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Pskovskaja oblast'		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Rostov		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Ryazan		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Samara		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Saratov		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Smolensk		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Tambov		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Tatarstan		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Tula		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Tver		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Ulyanovsk		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Vladimir		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Volgogradskaja oblast'		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation	Voronezh		Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Austria			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Belgium			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Czech Republic			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Germany			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Hungary			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Netherlands			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Poland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Slovakia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Switzerland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Denmark			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Finland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Ireland			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Norway			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Sweden			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	United Kingdom			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Albania			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bosnia and Herzegovina			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Croatia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Greece			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Montenegro			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	North Macedonia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Romania			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Serbia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Slovenia			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France		incl. Corsica	Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Portugal			Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain		incl. Baleares	Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
2	Cultivated					also cult. in temperate regions

Native
Africa

NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria (n.), Morocco, Tunisia

Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Iran (n.), Iraq, Israel (extinct), Turkey
CAUCASUS: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russian Federation [Krasnodar, Stavropol]
SIBERIA: Russian Federation [Chelyabinsk]

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India [Jammu and Kashmir]

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Sweden
MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia
EASTERN EUROPE: Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Russian Federation [Baškortostan, Respublika, Čuvašskaja Respublika, Karelia, Mordovija, Respublika, Tatarstan, Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kalužskaja oblast', Kursk, Leningradskaja oblast', Lipeckaja oblast', Moscow, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Orel, Orenburg, Penza, Pskovskaja oblast', Rostov, Ryazan, Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Tambov, Tula, Tver, Ulyanovsk, Vladimir, Volgogradskaja oblast', Voronezh], Ukraine
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Croatia, Italy, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain (incl. Baleares), France (incl. Corsica), Portugal

Cultivated (also cult. in temperate regions)

Reference(s)

Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.
Fennane, M. et al., eds. 1999-. Flore pratique du Maroc.
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
Jalas, J. & J. Suominen. 1972-. Atlas florae europaeae.
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. 1966-. Flora palaestina.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Environmental	ornamental		Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Medicines	folklore		McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=25429. Accessed 12 May 2026.