LENTIBULARIACEAE – BLADDERWORT FAMILY

Plant: herbs, aquatic or moist areas; sometimes insectivorous Stem: Root: + or - Leaves: alternate and in basal rosettes; sometimes modified or specialized to catch insects, others without leaves Flowers: perfect, usually very irregular (zygomorphic); ~ 5-merous often with fusion and spurs (calyx – 2,4 or 5 partite; corolla – upper lip entire or 2-lobed and lower lip entire to 2-5 lobed); 2 stamens; ovary superior,1-chambered ovary Fruit: capsule Other: worldwide; also known as Pinguiculaceae; Dicotyledons Group Genera: 3-4+ genera; locally (bladderwort)

WARNING – family descriptions are only a layman’s guide and should not be used as definitive Flower Morphology in the Lentribulariaceae are carnivorous. The mechanism Lentribulariaceae (Bladderwort Family) consists of small bladders with trapdoors in the underwater stems in the Utricularia and on the leaves in . The prey varies from small insects to minute invertebrates and micro-organisms – hairs trigger a trapdoor and the prey is ‘sucked in” to the trap by negative pressure in Utricularia and insects are trapped by sticky substances on the leaves in Pinguicula species

Examples of some common genera

Violet Butterwort Swollen Bladderwort Godfrey Walter

Small Butterwort Common [Great] Bladderwort Michx. Le Conte [U. vulgaris] LENTIBULARIACEAE – BLADDERWORT FAMILY

Violet Butterwort; Pinguicula ionantha Godfrey Small Butterwort; Pinguicula pumila Michx. Swollen Bladderwort; Utricularia inflata Walter Flatleaf Bladderwort; Hayne Common [Great] Bladderwort; Utricularia macrorhiza Le Conte [U. vulgaris] Zigzag Bladderwort; L. Violet Butterwort USDA Pinguicula ionantha Godfrey Lentibulariaceae (Bladderwort Family) Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve, Levy County, Florida Notes: 5-lobed flower, spurred, violet to white, throat purple, the yellow palate does protrude from the flower tube; leaves are basal, pale green, margins inrolled, glandular hairs on upper surface, up to 6 in diameter; insectivorous; winter to spring [V Max Brown, 2011] Small Butterwort USDA Pinguicula pumila Michx. Lentibulariaceae (Bladderwort Family) Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve, Levy County, Florida Notes: 5-lobed flower, pale lavender to white, with a spur, the yellow palate does not protrude from the hairy flower tube; leaves are basal, pale green, margins inrolled, glandular hairs on upper surface; stem with glandular hairs; small – usually less than 6 in, insectivorous; winter to spring [V Max Brown, 2011] Swollen USDA Bladderwort Utricularia inflata Walter Lentibulariaceae (Bladderwort Family) Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve, Levy County, Florida Notes: 2-lipped flower, yellow, upper lip somewhat longer than lower lip, palate about half the length of lip; uppermost submerged leaves inflated with fine dissected segments on distal ends; shallow water; winter to spring [V Max Brown, 2011] Flatleaf Bladderwort USDA Utricularia intermedia Hayne Lentibulariaceae (Bladderwort Family) Waterloo Recreation Area, Washtenaw County, Michigan Notes: 2-lipped flower, yellow with red streaks on upper lip, palate, and spur, lower lip almost twice as long as upper lip, spur almost as long as lower lip; alternate submerged leaves 3-parted at base and then forked, bladders on different branches; shallow water; late spring to early fall [V Max Brown, 2009] Common [Great] USDA Bladderwort Utricularia macrorhiza Le Conte [U. vulgaris L. ssp. macrorphiza] Lentibulariaceae (Bladderwort Family) Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, Ottawa County, Ohio Notes: 2-lipped flower, yellow, upper and lower lip about the same length, spur about 2/3 the length of the lip, palate about half the length of lip; submerged leaves, divided several times, bladders on branches; shallow water; summer to early fall [V Max Brown, 2006] Zigzag Bladderwort USDA Utricularia subulata L. Lentibulariaceae (Bladderwort Family) Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve, Levy County, Florida Notes: 2-lipped flower, yellow, small (up to 0.5 in), lower lip somewhat 3-lobed; a few grass-like leaves or branchlets may be present at base; stem very thread-like and may be somewhat “zigzag”; a terrestrial bladderwort; spring to fall [V Max Brown, 2011]