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There are a few species of tiny terrestrial Utricularia that roam around carnivorous plant collections with seeming impunity.
I did not buy this one, I don't recall when I first noticed it in the collection but it was a long ima ago and it is still here.
For most of the year it exists as distinctive but tiny leaves and then in summer it produced sparse spikes of yellow flowers.
When I first noticed it I assumed that it was U.subulata and although I am not entirely convinced, I have stopped looking for other candidates. I don't do anything to encourage it, but I don't do anything to destroy it either, so it persists. The North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox says: "Slender Bladderwort is a short-lived native carnivorous plant that is the most widely distributed plant in the Utricularia genus. In NC it is found in the coastal and sandhills areas and less frequently in the Piedmont and southern mountains. It prefers sandy peaty soils that are consistently moist. This tiny plant is nearly impossible to find until it sends up its small bright yellow flowers. If conditions are good the flower will be open and attract insects for pollination. If conditions are not ideal the flowers will be closed and it will be self-pollinating. The carnivorous bladders are underground and attract microscopic critters for food. The leaves are few and at the base of the plant." |
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| 20th July 2006 | ||
