Last #UtriculariaTuesday, I shared pics of Utricularia livida ‘Merrie Heart,’ a cultivar from Mexico. Here is another clone of U. livida (most likely from Central or Southern Africa). This species occurs across a wide geographic range, including tropical and Southern Africa, Madagascar, Mexico, and other Latin American countries. Oddly enough, two other bladderwort species, U. pubescens and U. simulans, occupy similar distributions.

#Utricularia #Bladderwort #Lentibulariacea #CarnivorousPlants

Anyone else growing bladderworts? For this #UtriculariaTuesday, meet Utricularia ‘Merrie Heart,’ a cultivar of U. livida from Mexico. This plant spreads vigorously, escaping through the drainage holes at the bottom of its pot. The flowers on each spike last for several weeks, and it blooms almost constantly if it receives enough light. I’ll share pics of my other U. livida specimen next Tuesday.

#Utricularia #Bladderwort #Lentibulariacea #CarnivorousPlants

It’s #UtriculariaTuesday!

#Utricularia sandersonii ‘Blue’ 🐇🌱

#Bladderwort #Lentibulariaceae #CarnivorousPlants

I added swollen bladderwort (Utricularia inflata). to my small collection of carnivorous plants

#CarnivorousPlants #NativePlants #AquaticPlants #Bladderwort #UtriculariaInflata

https://islandinthenet.com/swollen-bladderwort/

In July, I added swollen bladderwort (Utricularia inflata) to my small collection of carnivorous plants. This little bit of swamp life came from the Carnivorous Plant Nursery in Maryland, along with some infusoria culture to help it settle in.

When the bladderwort and infusoria culture arrived, they were in perfect condition. I set up a new home for the bladderwort—a tall glass container that now sits in a sunny spot on my balcony. I added the infusoria culture and a handful of organic sphagnum peat moss to the water, hoping to mimic the dark, tannin-rich bogs in which this plant naturally thrives. To my delight, the bladderwort has taken off, doubling in size in just a short time! I think the sunny location and the infusoria played a big part in helping the plant establish itself so quickly.

Utricularia inflata, or swollen bladderwort, is a fascinating plant. It’s a large, perennial aquatic bladderwort with distinctive radial floats that branch out and bear multiple traps. These traps, about 1⁄8" in size, turn dark as they capture and digest infusoria, including mosquito larvae. For those who might not be familiar, infusoria is a catch-all term for the microscopic life that thrives in freshwater—tiny organisms like paramecia, euglena, and daphnia. In the world of fishkeeping, these are often the first food for fry. But for a carnivorous plant enthusiast, they serve another purpose: feeding the hungry traps of bladderworts.

The plant prefers the same dark, tea-coloured waters I tried to recreate with the peat moss. It’s a rootless plant that grows suspended in the boggy waters of the Pinelands, among other aquatic plants like water lilies and frogbits. One of the main reasons I chose this bladderwort is its striking yellow flowers that rise above the water from May to November. I hope to see these next summer.

As autumn approaches, the plant forms turions—winter buds that sink to the bottom, helping it survive the colder months. Based on what I have read, if I can keep the plant well-lit, it might even continue growing through the winter.

But why a swollen bladderwort? Well, it started with a sundew (Drosera) that I bought last year. I had a fruit fly problem in the kitchen, and I thought the sundew might help. Unfortunately, the flies were too big for the tiny sundew to handle. When spring came, I moved the sundew outside, and it responded with a burst of growth and some of the smallest, most delicate flowers I’ve ever seen. That experience got me hooked, and I started looking for New Jersey native flowering carnivorous plants to add to my collection. After some searching, I found a list of carnivorous plants native to the New Jersey Pinelands and eventually discovered the Carnivorous Plant Nursery.

I’m already looking forward to watching it bloom and seeing how it adapts to its new environment.

https://islandinthenet.com/swollen-bladderwort/

#AquaticPlant #Bladderwort #CarnivorousPlant #CarnivorousPlantNursery #Infusoria #NativePlant #SwollenBladderwort #Utricularia #UtriculariaInflata

#Utricularia blanchetii

#Bladderwort #Lentibulariaceae #carnivorousPlant

#Utricularia pubescens

#Bladderwort #Lentibulariaceae #carnivorousPlant

#Utricularia livida ‘Merrie Heart’

#Bladderwort #Lentibulariaceae #carnivorousPlant