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 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 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 praetermissa is a medium-sized epiphyte or terrestrial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. praetermissa is endemic to Central America, where it is found in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama. It was originally published and described by Peter Taylor in 1977. It grows on wet trees and banks in cloud forests at altitudes from 1,000 m (3,281 ft) to 2,800 m (9,186 ft). It flowers between July and October.
Utricularia reniformis is a large perennial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. reniformis is endemic to Brazil. It was originally published and described by Augustin Saint-Hilaire in 1830. It usually grows as a terrestrial plant in wet grasslands and only sometimes as an epiphyte in the water-filled leaf axils of some bromeliad species. It is typically found between altitudes of 750 m (2,461 ft) and 1,900 m (6,234 ft) in its southern range and up to 2,500 m (8,202 ft) in its northern range. It has been collected in flower between October and March.
Utricularia hirta is a small, probably perennial, terrestrial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. hirta is native to India and Southeast Asia, where it can be found in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam and on the island of Borneo. It was originally named by Jacob Theodor Klein and formally described and published by Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link in 1820. It grows as a terrestrial plant in damp or wet open areas or marshes at altitudes from sea level to 1,000 m (3,281 ft). It has been collected in flower between July and December.
Utricularia minutissima is a small or very small terrestrial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. minutissima is native to Asia and Australia. Among the islands of Southeast Asia, it is found on Borneo, New Guinea, and Sumatra.
Utricularia guyanensis is a small, probably perennial, terrestrial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia and is the only member of Utricularia sect. Stylotheca. U. guyanensis is native to Central and South America. It grows as a terrestrial plant on wet or damp sandy savannas at lower altitudes, but up to 1,100 m (3,609 ft) in Bolívar. It has been collected in flower between January and November. It was originally published and described by Alphonse Pyrame de Candolle in 1844 and placed in its own section, Stylotheca.
Utricularia appendiculata is a medium-sized, probably perennial, terrestrial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia and is the only member of Utricularia sect. Oliveria. U. appendiculata is endemic to Africa, where it can be found in Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. It grows as a terrestrial plant in wet Sphagnum bogs, damp sandy savannas, or in peaty marshes at altitudes from 1,500 m (4,921 ft) to 1,860 m (6,102 ft), but as low as 700 m (2,297 ft) in the Central African Republic. It flowers mostly in the wet season. It was originally published and described by Eileen Adelaide Bruce in 1933 and was placed in its own section, Oliveria, in 1986 by Peter Taylor.
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.
Utricularia firmula is a small annual carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is native to tropical and southern Africa, where it can be found in Angola, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. U. firmula grows as a terrestrial plant in damp, sandy or peaty soils in grasslands or on wet, mossy rocks, often as a weed in rice fields at altitudes from near sea level to 2,100 m (6,890 ft). It typically flowers toward the end of the wet season. It was originally named by Friedrich Welwitsch but formally described and published by Daniel Oliver in 1865.
Utricularia foveolata is a small, probably annual, carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is native to the Old World tropics, where it can be found in Africa, Asia, Australia, and on the eastern end of Java. U. foveolata grows as a terrestrial or subaquatic plant in wet soils or in shallow water, sometimes as a weed in rice fields in Asia. It was originally described and published by Michael Pakenham Edgeworth in 1847.
Utricularia graminifolia is a small perennial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is native to Asia, where it can be found in Burma, China, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. U. graminifolia grows as a terrestrial or affixed subaquatic plant in wet soils or in marshes, usually at lower altitudes but ascending to 1,500 m (4,921 ft) in Burma. It was originally described and published by Martin Vahl in 1804. It has also recently been grown in planted aquaria. It is however not a true aquatic species, as seen in species from Utricularia subg. Utricularia.
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.
Utricularia odorata is a medium-sized, probably perennial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is native to southeastern Asia and northern Australia. U. odorata grows as a terrestrial plant in wet grasslands at low altitudes. It was originally described by François Pellegrin in 1920. The specific epithet odorata is derived from reports that the flowers are fragrant.
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.
Utricularia uliginosa, the Asian bladderwort, is a small annual carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is native to Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Australia. U. uliginosa grows as a terrestrial or subaquatic plant in seasonally flooded shallow pools with sandy soils or on banks and among rocky stream beds at low altitudes. It was originally described by Martin Vahl in 1804.
Utricularia moniliformis is a small perennial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. U. moniliformis grows as a lithophyte on wet rocks at altitudes from 750 m (2,461 ft) to 2,300 m (7,546 ft). It was formally described as a species by Peter Taylor in 1986, although it was first recorded as U. orbiculata by George Henry Kendrick Thwaites in 1860 and later by Karl Immanuel Eberhard Goebel in 1890.
Utricularia multicaulis is a very small annual carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is native to Bhutan, Burma, China, India, and Nepal. U. multicaulis grows as a lithophyte or terrestrial plant on wet rocks or open swampy meadows with mosses at altitudes from 1,800 m (5,906 ft) to 4,000 m (13,123 ft). It was originally described by Daniel Oliver in 1859.
Utricularia salwinensis is a small, probably perennial, carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. It is endemic to China and is only known from the type location in northwestern Yunnan and two other collections in southeastern Xizang (Tibet). U. salwinensis grows as a lithophyte or terrestrial plant among mosses on wet cliffs or in bogs at altitudes from 3,275 m (10,745 ft) to 4,000 m (13,123 ft). It was originally described by Heinrich Handel-Mazzetti in 1936.
