Utricularia, commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species. They occur in fresh water and wet soil as terrestrial or aquatic species across every continent except Antarctica. Utricularia are cultivated for their flowers, which are often compared with those of snapdragons and orchids, especially amongst carnivorous plant enthusiasts. While commonly confused with being insectivorous, they are in fact a 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.
Utricularia inflexa is a medium to large sized suspended aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is probably a perennial plant. U. inflexa is endemic to Africa and the Indian subcontinent.
Utricularia minor, the lesser 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. minor is a circumboreal species and is found in North America, Asia, and Europe.
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.
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.
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.
Utricularia stellaris is a medium to large sized suspended aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. stellaris is native to Africa, tropical Asia, and northern Australia.
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 purpurea, the eastern purple bladderwort, is a medium-sized suspended aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. purpurea is endemic to North and Central America. It has been suggested that U. purpurea may have partially lost its appetite for carnivory. Richards (2001) did an extensive study in the field on it and noted that trapping rates of the usual Utricularia prey were significantly lower than in other species in the genus. Richards concludes that this species can still trap and digest arthropod prey in its specialized bladder traps, but does so sparingly. Instead, it harbors a community of algae, zooplankton, and debris in the bladders that indicates U. purpurea favors a mutualistic interaction in place of a predator–prey relationship.
Utricularia subg. Bivalvaria is a subgenus in the genus Utricularia. It was originally described by Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz in 1874. In Peter Taylor's 1989 monograph on the genus, he reduced the subgenus to synonym under section Oligocista, a decision that was later reversed in the light of molecular phylogenetic studies and the subgenus was restored.
Utricularia cornuta, the horned bladderwort, is a small to medium-sized, probably perennial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. cornuta is endemic to North America and can be found in the Bahamas, Cuba, Canada, and the United States. It 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.
Utricularia caerulea, the blue bladderwort, is a very small to medium-sized carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. caerulea spans a wide native range, including areas in tropical Africa, Asia, and Australia. It grows as a terrestrial plant in wet, shallow soils over rock, in wet grasslands, in swamps, or near streams in open communities, mostly at lower altitudes but ascending to as much as 2,100 m (6,890 ft). It was originally described and published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.
Utricularia sect. Oligocista is the largest section in the genus Utricularia. The 42 species in this section are small to medium-sized terrestrial carnivorous plants native throughout the tropics, with six species in the Americas, ten in Africa, five in Australia, and the remainder in Asia, with 17 mostly native to peninsular India. Alphonse Pyrame de Candolle originally described and published this section in 1844. Peter Taylor published his taxonomic monograph of Utricularia in 1986, in which he placed this section within subgenus Utricularia. More recent phylogenetic data and revisions have reinstated subgenus Bivalvaria and have placed this section within it.
Utricularia bosminifera is a small, probably perennial, carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is endemic to the Ko Chang island of Trat Province in Thailand. U. bosminifera grows as a terrestrial or subaquatic plant on sandy banks by streams. It flowers throughout the year. U. bosminifera was originally described and published by Carl Hansen Ostenfeld in 1906 and later reduced to a variety of U. bifida by J. F. Maxwell in 1985. Peter Taylor disagreed with Maxwell's taxonomic treatment and reinstated the species in his 1986 monograph. The species epithet, bosminifera, refers to the bladder traps' shape, which resembles a Bosmina, a small crustacean.
Utricularia scandens is a small, probably annual carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It has a wide native distribution that includes Africa and Asia. U. scandens grows as a terrestrial plant in wet grasslands and bogs at lower altitudes around sea level up to 2,300 m (7,546 ft). It was originally described by Ludwig Benjamin in 1847. There is a significant amount of synonymy established for this species, in part because of its large distribution and variable morphology.
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.
Australia has one of the world's richest carnivorous plant floras, with around 187 recognised species from 6 genera.
