Utricularia macrorhiza

Utricularia macrorhiza, the common bladderwort,[1] is a perennial suspended aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. macrorhiza is native to North America and eastern temperate Asia.[2]

Utricularia macrorhiza
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lentibulariaceae
Genus: Utricularia
Subgenus: Utricularia subg. Utricularia
Section: Utricularia sect. Utricularia
Species:
U. macrorhiza
Binomial name
Utricularia macrorhiza
Synonyms
  • Lentibularia vulgaris var. americana
    (A.Gray) Nieuwl. & Lunell
  • Megozipa macrorhiza (LeConte) Raf.
  • U. grandiflora Martens
  • U. intermedia Hayne ? robbinsii Wood
  • U. macrorhiza LeConte ex Torrey
  • U. robbinsii (Wood) Wood
  • [U. vulgaris Bigelow]
  • U. vulgaris var. americana A.Gray
  • U. vulgaris subsp. macrorhiza
    (LeConte) Clausen

Description

U. macrorhiza is a floating plant with six to twenty large, bilaterally symmetrical, yellow flowers that appear in June, July, and August, and are held on an erect stem.[3] U. macrorhiza is distinguished from other similar species by its flowers, which are larger than those found on any other bladderwort.[3]

The bladders which give common bladderwort its name are used to trap and consume prey.[3] Small organisms trigger the hairs on the pores of the bladder as they brush against it, causing the pore to open inward, allowing a rush of water into the bladder which pulls the prey in as well.[3] The pore immediately closes behind the prey, which is then digested by enzymes within the bladder.[3] The process of trapping the prey from opening to closing the pore takes place in 0.002 seconds.[3] If large prey becomes stuck in the pore, the prey is digested by the enzymes bit by bit until the pore closes again.[3]

Distribution

In North America, U. macrorhiza is found throughout the United States and Canada.[1][3] In this range, it is found mostly in ponds and lakes, but also in slow-moving streams and rivers.[3] It shares the northern half of its range with a similar, related species, U. minor, lesser bladderwort.[1]

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See also

References
  1. "Utricularia macrorhiza". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  2. Taylor, Peter. (1989). The genus Utricularia - a taxonomic monograph. Kew Bulletin Additional Series XIV: London.
  3. "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2018-10-16.


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