Stout rhizomatous plant. Floating leaves oval, cleft to the stalk, submerged leaves shorter stalked, rounded, thin and translucent. Flowers bright yellow, 12 to 40 mm, rising out of the water, with 5 large overlapping sepals, and numerous small petals. Fruit flask shaped.

Other water-lilies (Nymphaea and Nymphoides).  The non-native ornamental spatter-dock (N advena) is occasionally naturalised in the UK but is not recorded in VC55; it has erect leaves, not floating.  Note that some congested plants of the native N lutea may also have semi-erect non-floating leaves.

Non-flowering plants can usually be identified by presence of thin, lettuce-like submerged leaves or 'brandy-bottle' fruits

If not in flower, note fruits or submerged leaves.

Lakes, ponds, water filled quarries, streams and canals.

June to September.

Perennial.

Fairly frequent throughout Britain except in the extreme north.

Fairly frequent in Leicestershire and Rutland. The Flora of Leicestershire published in 1988 states that it occurred in 134 of the 617 tetrads.

In the current checklist (Jeeves 2011) it is listed as native; locally abundant