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.
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 subg. Utricularia is a subgenus in the genus Utricularia.
Utricularia subg. Polypompholyx is a subgenus in the genus Utricularia.
Utricularia sect. Utricularia is a section in the genus Utricularia. The species in this section are suspended or affixed aquatic carnivorous plants.
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 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 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 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 sect. Orchidioides is a section in the genus Utricularia. The species in this section are small or medium-sized terrestrial or epiphytic carnivorous plants native to Central and South America. Alphonse Pyrame de Candolle originally published this section in 1844. In 1916, John Hendley Barnhart moved the section to its own genus, Orchyllium, recognizing that the species in this section are distinct. Several other botanists, including Henry Gleason, considered the treatment of these species in the genus Orchyllium valid and moved other species from Utricularia to Orchyllium. Ultimately the species were all reunited under Utricularia.
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."
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 sect. Aranella is a section in the genus Utricularia. The ten species in this section are small terrestrial carnivorous plants native to tropical South America with one species also extending into tropical Africa. John Hendley Barnhart originally described and published this section in 1913 as a separate genus, Aranella. Sadashi Komiya revised the genus Utricularia in a 1973 taxonomic review and placed Barnhart's genus at the rank of subgenus within Utricularia. Peter Taylor then published his taxonomic monograph of Utricularia in 1986 in which he reduced Komiya's subgenus to the rank of section, placing it within subgenus Utricularia. More recent phylogenetic data and revisions have reinstated subgenus Bivalvaria and have placed this section within it.
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 sect. Phyllaria is a section in the genus Utricularia. The sixteen species in this section are small or very small lithophytic or epiphytic carnivorous plants native to the mountains of Asia, ranging from India to China and New Guinea. One species, Utricularia striatula, is an exception and is widespread in much of the Old World tropics. Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz originally described and published this section as Utricularia subg. Phyllaria in 1874. Franciszek Kamieński reviewed the genus in 1891 and reduced Kunz's subgenus to a section. Later botanists, including Peter Taylor, agreed with Kamieński's assessment. In Taylor's 1986 revision of the genus, he placed this section in subgenus Utricularia. Later molecular data resulted in the revision of Taylor's treatment, reinstating subgenus Bivalvaria and placing this section within it.
Utricularia sect. Setiscapella is a section in the genus Utricularia that contains small or medium-sized terrestrial or subaquatic species. Most plants in this section are endemic to Central and South America with the exceptions of Utricularia stanfieldii, which is endemic to Africa, and Utricularia subulata which is almost pantropical. It was first described by John Hendley Barnhart in 1916 at the rank of genus. In 1973, Sadashi Komiya reduced the genus to a subgenus of the genus Utricularia. In his 1986 monograph on the genus, Peter Taylor reorganized the genus and reduced this to the rank of section.
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.
