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.
Genlisea is a genus of carnivorous plants also known as corkscrew plants. The 30 or so species grow in wet terrestrial to semi-aquatic environments distributed throughout Africa and Central and South America. The plants use highly modified underground leaves to attract, trap and digest minute microfauna, particularly protozoans. Although suggested a century earlier by Charles Darwin, carnivory in the genus was not proven until 1998.
Aldrovanda vesiculosa, commonly known as the waterwheel plant, is the sole extant species in the flowering plant genus Aldrovanda of the family Droseraceae. The plant captures small aquatic invertebrates using traps similar to those of the Venus flytrap. The traps are arranged in whorls around a central, free-floating stem, giving rise to the common name. This is one of the few plant species capable of rapid movement.
Utricularia vulgaris is an aquatic species of bladderwort found in Asia and Europe. The plant is free-floating and does not put down roots. Stems can attain lengths of over one metre in a single growing season, but die back and form turions in winter. The leaves are finely pinnately divided, between one and eight centimetres long and carry many bladder-like traps. The yellow flowers are borne on stalks above the surface of the water between April and August. In eastern Asia and North America, its place is taken by the related species U. macrorhiza.
Drosera capillaris, also known as the pink sundew, is a species of carnivorous plant belonging to the family Droseraceae. It is native to the southern United States, the Greater Antilles, western and southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. It is listed as vulnerable in the US state of Virginia, and critically imperiled in Arkansas, Maryland, and Tennessee.
Genlisea aurea is one of the largest carnivorous species in the genus Genlisea. It has pale bundles of root-like organs up to about 15 cm long under ground that attract, trap, and digest protozoans. These organs are subterranean leaves, which lack chlorophyll. G. aurea is endemic to Brazil, where it grows with several other species of Genlisea. It possesses an exceptionally small genome for a flowering plant.
Pinhook Bog is a unique bog in Indiana that has been designated a National Natural Landmark. It is part of Indiana Dunes National Park, an area that many citizens, scientists, and politicians fought hard to preserve. Its sister bog, Volo Bog, is located nearby. The bog contains a large variety of plants, including insect eating plants, tamarack trees, stands of blueberry bushes, and floating mats of sphagnum moss. Pinhook Bog is about 580 acres (2.3 km2), a quarter of which is a floating mat of sphagnum peat moss. A "moat" separates the bog from the uplands.
Genlisea margaretae is a carnivorous species in the genus Genlisea native to areas of Madagascar, Tanzania, and Zambia. It has pale bundles of root-like organs up to about 20 cm long under ground that attract, trap, and digest protozoans. These organs are subterranean leaves, which lack chlorophyll. It had been known to possess the smallest known genome of any flowering plant as of 2006, but was later surpassed by the related species Genlisea tuberosa.
Utricularia dichotoma, commonly known as fairy aprons, is a variable, perennial species of terrestrial bladderwort. It is a widespread species with mauve or purple fan-shaped flowers on a slender stalk and usually grows in wet locations.
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.
Utricularia foliosa, the leafy bladderwort, is a large suspended aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is probably a perennial plant that cultivates in lake, swamps and ponds. U. foliosa is native to Africa and North and South America, widely distributed among many countries. Although, they are widely distributed around the world, very little studies have been contributed to U. foliosa. They like to sprout all year long, and found in large body of water. The environment that Utricularia foliosa are found in are experiencing negative anthropogenic impacts such as drainage and conversion to urban or agricultural activities are causing rapid environmental degradation.
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.
Utricularia macrorhiza, the common bladderwort, is a perennial suspended aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. macrorhiza is native to North America and eastern temperate Asia.
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 humboldtii is a large perennial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. Peter Taylor lists it as either an "aquatic-epiphyte", a subaquatic or a terrestrial species. U. humboldtii is endemic to South America, where it is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela. It was originally published and described by Robert Hermann Schomburgk in 1840. It is usually found growing in the water-filled leaf axils of some species of bromeliad, including Brocchinia micrantha, B. tatei, and B. reducta and also plants in the genus Orectanthe. It also grows as an epiphyte on tree trunks or as a subaquatic or terrestrial species in shallow water or wet soil in open savanna. It is found mostly between altitudes of 1,200 m (3,937 ft) and 2,500 m (8,202 ft), though it has been found at altitudes as low as 300 m (984 ft). It has been collected in flower throughout every month of the year.
Utricularia nelumbifolia is a large perennial aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. nelumbifolia is endemic to Brazil. It was originally published and described by George Gardner in 1842. Its habitat is reported as being restricted to the water-filled leaf axils of Vriesea species, which are bromeliads, in arid volcanic locations at altitudes from 800 m (2,625 ft) to 2,200 m (7,200 ft). U. nelumbifolia will produce aerial stolons that descend into nearby leaf axils in order to colonize new territory, similar to the habit of U. humboldtii. It typically flowers from May to August.
Utricularia bisquamata is a small annual carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is native to southern Africa, where it can be found in Angola, Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia, and South Africa. U. bisquamata grows as a terrestrial plant in damp, sandy or peaty soils among mosses by streams or wet depressions at altitudes from near sea level to 1,200 m (3,937 ft) in South Africa and up to 2,250 m (7,382 ft) in Angola. It was originally described and published by Franz von Paula Schrank in 1824.
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods, and occasionally small mammals and birds. They still generate all of their energy from photosynthesis. They have adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic bogs. They can be found on all continents except Antarctica, as well as many Pacific islands. In 1875, Charles Darwin published Insectivorous Plants, the first treatise to recognize the significance of carnivory in plants, describing years of painstaking research.
Pinguicula, commonly known as butterworts, is a genus of carnivorous flowering plants in the family Lentibulariaceae. They use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they obtain from the environment. Of the roughly 80 currently known species, 13 are native to Europe, 9 to North America, and some to northern Asia. The largest number of species is in South and Central America.
Utricularia densiflora is a carnivorous plant in the genus Utricularia and is endemic to Brazil. It is a hydrophytic herb that has stolons up to 8 centimetres (3.1 in) long. It produces inflorescences around 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long with the bracts and flowers arranged spirally around the inflorescence. The species epithet densiflora refers to the density of flowers that each plant produces, which typically ranges from 15 to 23 flowers congested near the top of the inflorescence. Beneath the lowermost opened flower, there are several rudimentary or dormant flower buds that make it unique in the genus, along with other diagnostic characteristics. It is most similar morphologically to U. erectiflora and U. meyeri.
