[8] Since Nymphaceae alba is an aquatic plant, its specialized trichomes are hydropotes, formed at an abaxial surface of the young leaf and packed tightly in the rosette at the rhizome's flattened apex.

The flower blooms on top of a big rounded green leaf up to 30 cm: both leaves float on the water's surface.

[8][13] The red variety (Nymphaea alba f. rosea) is cultivated from lake Fagertärn ("Fair tarn") in the forest of Tiveden, Sweden, where it was discovered in the early 19th century.

[11] Nymphaea alba is native all over Europe and in parts of North Africa and the Middle East in fresh water.

Lastly, within Europe, it is found in Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, France, Portugal and Spain.

In the earliest printed medical textbooks, authors maintained this use, though warning against consuming large and frequent doses.

[17] Water Lilly is valuable and nutritious when people can use the peduncle and young leaf for vegetables, and rhizomes can be used as food supplements; moreover, local people can use different parts of the plant for various purposes, such as making herbal medicine to treat diarrhea, piles or cough, or using as a fragrance and ornamental properties.