The Genus Utricularia: A Taxonomic Monograph

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The Genus Utricularia:
A Taxonomic Monograph
The genus Utricularia - a taxonomic monograph.jpg
Cover of Peter Taylor's personal copy.
The cover design was created by J. R. Stone based on Taylor's original pencil drawings. [1]
Author Peter Taylor
LanguageEnglish
Publisher HMSO
Publication date
November 9, 1989
(reprinted in 1994)
Media typePrint (softcover)
Pagesxi + 724
ISBN 0-11-250046-3
OCLC 20762331

The Genus Utricularia: A Taxonomic Monograph is a monograph by Peter Taylor on the carnivorous plant genus Utricularia , the bladderworts. It was published in 1989 by Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) as the fourteenth entry in the Kew Bulletin Additional Series. It was reprinted for The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1994. [2]

Contents

Background

Taylor's monograph represented the culmination of 41 years of research, [3] [4] which included numerous field trips and herbarium visits (Taylor observed 90 species in habitat and estimated he had examined more than 50,000 herbarium specimens). [1] More than 900 Utricularia taxon names had to be considered for the revision, the vast majority of which proved to be synonyms. [5]

Content

Taylor recognised 214 species, which he classified into two subgenera and 35 sections. No infraspecific taxa were recognised. Each species was illustrated with a full-page line drawing created by the author and inked in by Sue Hillier. [1] Taylor's species list and classification are now generally accepted with some additions of newly described taxa and modifications based on phylogenetic studies. [5]

Reviews

The book was well received and in particular praised for its scope and comprehensiveness. [6] [7] Donald Schnell reviewed the work for the March 1990 issue of the Carnivorous Plant Newsletter : [6]

Some may think me guilty of hyperbole after the following statement, but after careful consideration, I judge this to be the CP book publication event since Lloyd in 1942.

After forty years of backbreaking, sometimes heartbreaking, excruciatingly detailed and careful study of the genus Utricularia by this author, frequently working on his own time into nights and weekends, this is what we have been waiting for. The meticulous balance and perspective of studying many thousands of herbarium specimens and living plants in situ throughout the world range are all here. In a foreword, Kew Gardens Director Ghillean Prance notes that here we have the unusual complete taxonomic study (nowadays) of a large and complex genus, but also a genus which is global in extent.

[...] the book is soft cover but strongly manufactured. Paper and printing are excellent as is the line drawing and halftone work. There is a complete bibliography and index. I find the author's writing style to be particularly refreshing [in] these days of stilted academic conformity.

[...] I can recommend this book without reservation, and it should be in the personal library of all serious CP students, especially those who are working with utricularias at all.

In a 1991 issue of the Kew Bulletin , Christopher D. K. Cook wrote of Taylor's monograph: "It is no disappointment. It is an admirable work that will remain the standard account for many years." [7] James L. Luteyn of the New York Botanical Garden also gave a positive appraisal in Brittonia : "Forty years of love and devotion are reflected in this marvelous tome by the world's authority on bladderworts." But he added: "Two comments on the down side are that the specimen citations are restricted mostly to the types, and that the cover (in my copy) became unglued after I reviewed it." [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Utricularia amethystina</i> Species of plant

Utricularia amethystina, the Florida purple bladderwort, is a variable species of terrestrial bladderwort native to Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Peru, and south-west Florida. The small flowers can be purple, lilac, white, bluish, cream, or bright yellow, and are also highly variable in size and shape.

Utricularia quinquedentata is an annual, terrestrial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. Its distribution ranges across northern Australia from Western Australia to northern Queensland and south to Brisbane. It was first identified by Ferdinand von Mueller as possibly a new species or variety in the early 1890s, noting it as "U. albiflora or a closely allied species." Mueller labeled one herbarium sheet as Utricularia albiflora var. quinquedentata. Without a valid description, according to the rules of botanical nomenclature, however, the epithet quinquedentata was not recognized until Peter Taylor validly published the species in 1986.

<i>Utricularia subulata</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Utricularia subulata, the zigzag bladderwort, is a small annual, terrestrial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is the most widely distributed species in the genus, being almost pantropical.

<i>Utricularia biloba</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Utricularia biloba, the moth bladderwort, is a perennial, terrestrial or aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is endemic to Australia with a distribution along the coastal regions of New South Wales and Queensland.

<i>Utricularia resupinata</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Utricularia resupinata, popularly known as lavender bladderwort or northeastern bladderwort, is a small perennial subaquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is native to eastern Canada, the United States, and Central America. This plant species has an interesting etymology, growth pattern, ecology, and research history. As a plant that is threatened or endangered in many of the States where it is found, it is a candidate for sound conservation efforts.

<i>Utricularia aurea</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Utricularia aurea, the golden bladderwort, is a medium- to large-sized suspended aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is the most common and widespread suspended aquatic species in Asia. Its native distribution ranges from India to Japan and Australia.

Utricularia floridana, the Florida yellow bladderwort, is a large affixed aquatic carnivorous plant in the bladderwort genus within the bladderwort family). It is a perennial plant that is endemic to southeastern United States.

<i>Utricularia inflata</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Utricularia inflata, commonly known as the swollen bladderwort, inflated bladderwort, or large floating bladderwort, is a large suspended aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is a perennial that is native to the southeastern coastal plains of the United States. It has often been confused with U. radiata, which is similar but smaller than U. inflata. Since 1980, U. inflata has been reported to exist in locations beyond its traditional range, such as the Adirondack Mountains in New York, southeastern Massachusetts, and in Washington State. Studies on the populations in the Adirondacks suggest that an introduction of U. inflata to a location where it naturalizes can lead to altered sediment chemistry by reducing the net primary productivity of native species. It is also listed by the state of Washington as a problematic species because of the dense mat-forming habit of this aquatic Utricularia. It is one of the few carnivorous plants that can be invasive.

<i>Utricularia minor</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Utricularia minor, the lesser bladderwort, is a small species of perennial carnivorous plant in the family Lentibulariaceae. It is usually found affixed to the substrate but it can also survive suspended in a body of water. U. minor is a circumboreal species and is found in North America, Asia, and Europe.

<i>Utricularia intermedia</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Utricularia intermedia, the flatleaf bladderwort or intermediate bladderwort is a small, perennial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is usually found affixed to the substrate but it can also survive suspended in a body of water. U. intermedia is a circumboreal species and is found in North America, Asia, and Europe.

<i>Utricularia ochroleuca</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Utricularia ochroleuca, the yellowishwhite bladderwort, pale bladderwort, or cream-flowered bladderwort, is a small, perennial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is usually found affixed to the substrate. U. ochroleuca is a circumboreal species and is found in North America, Asia, and Europe.

<i>Utricularia olivacea</i> Species of aquatic plant

Utricularia olivacea, the piedmont bladderwort, is a very small, annual suspended aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. Utricularia olivacea is native to Central America, South America, the West Indies, and the eastern United States.

<i>Utricularia radiata</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Utricularia radiata, the little floating bladderwort, is a medium-sized suspended aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. radiata is endemic to North America.

<i>Utricularia striata</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Utricularia striata, the striped bladderwort, is a medium-sized affixed subaquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. striata is endemic to the eastern coastal plains of the United States.

Utricularia stygia, the arctic bladderwort or Northern bladderwort, is an affixed aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. stygia is native to northern Europe and North America. This species was originally published by Göran Thor in 1987 but the description was not in Latin and was therefore nomenclaturally invalid. Thor validly published the species a year later. The cited difference that separates U. stygia from U. ochroleuca is the shape of the tiny quadrifid glands inside the bladders, specifically at which angle the "arms" of these glands diverge from one another. Thor, when working on the Utricularia of Sweden noted that this distinction alone allowed for consistent species identification. Both Barry Rice and Peter Taylor have expressed concerns regarding how this method applies to other populations around the world.

Peter Geoffrey Taylor (1926–2011) was a British botanist who worked at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew throughout his career in botany. Taylor was born in 1926 and joined the staff of the herbarium at Kew in 1948. He published his first new species, Utricularia pentadactyla, in 1954. In 1973, Taylor was appointed curator of the orchid division of the herbarium and, according to Kew, "under his direction, orchid taxonomy was revitalised and its horticultural contacts strengthened."

<i>Utricularia cornuta</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Utricularia cornuta, the horned bladderwort, is a small to medium-sized, probably perennial species of carnivorous plant in the family Lentibulariaceae. It is endemic to North America and can be found in the Bahamas, Cuba, Canada, and the United States. Utricularia cornuta grows as a terrestrial or subaquatic plant in marshes, swamps, and pools in shallow waters, mostly at lower altitudes. It was originally described and published by André Michaux in 1803.

<i>Utricularia lateriflora</i> Species of plant

Utricularia lateriflora, the small bladderwort, is a small to medium-sized perennial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. lateriflora is endemic to Australia and can be found in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria. It grows as a terrestrial plant in sandy or peaty soils in heathland at lower altitudes. It was originally described and published by Robert Brown in 1810.

<i>Utricularia sandersonii</i> Species of carnivorous plant

Utricularia sandersonii, Sanderson's bladderwort, is a species of flowering plant in the bladderwort family. Originally described and published by the British botanist Daniel Oliver in 1865, it is a carnivorous evergreen perennial, endemic to northern KwaZulu-Natal and Transkei in South Africa.

Utricularia macrocheilos is a small annual carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is endemic to western tropical Africa, where it is only known from the mountain ranges of Guinea and Sierra Leone. U. macrocheilos grows as a terrestrial plant among wet rocks at medium altitudes. It flowers between August and January. A specimen of U. macrocheilos was originally included in the description of U. prehensilis by François Pellegrin in 1914 and also in John Hutchinson and Nicol Alexander Dalzell's 1931 description of U. micropetala. Peter Taylor recognized these specimens as a different taxon in a 1963 review of African species and treated it as a variety of U. micropetala. After further discussions with other botanists and review of the specimens, he elevated the variety to the species level in 1986 as U. macrocheilos. Compared to U. micropetala, U. macrocheilos has much longer corolla lips and less acute fruiting calyx lobe apices. Taylor notes, however, that the vegetative body of the plants and the seeds appear to be identical.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Taylor, P. 1989. The genus Utricularia - a taxonomic monograph. Kew Bulletin Additional Series XIV: London.
  2. The genus Utricularia : a taxonomic monograph. WorldCat.
  3. Lowrie, A. 2002. "Utricularia petertaylorii (Lentibulariaceae), a new species from the south-west of Western Australia" (PDF).Nuytsia14(3): 405–410.
  4. McPherson, S. R. 2010. Carnivorous Plants and their Habitats. 2 volumes. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.
  5. 1 2 Fleischmann, A. 2012. The new Utricularia species described since Peter Taylor's monograph. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 41(2): 67–76.
  6. 1 2 Schnell, D. 1990. Special book review. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 19(2): 51–52.
  7. 1 2 Cook, C. D. K. 1991. Book reviews: The genus Utricularia - a taxonomic monograph. Kew Bulletin46(1): 183–185. JSTOR   4110760
  8. Luteyn, J. L. 1991. The genus Utricularia - a taxonomic monograph. Brittonia43(1): 68. JSTOR   2807184