Utricularia sandersonii
Utricularia sandersonii, Sanderson's bladderwort, is a species of flowering plant in the bladderwort family. Originally described and published by the British botanist Daniel Oliver in 1865, it is a carnivorous evergreen perennial, endemic to northern KwaZulu-Natal and Transkei in South Africa.
Utricularia sandersonii | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Lentibulariaceae |
Genus: | Utricularia |
Subgenus: | Utricularia subg. Bivalvaria |
Section: | Utricularia sect. Calpidisca |
Species: | U. sandersonii |
Binomial name | |
Utricularia sandersonii | |
Synonyms | |
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Description
Up to 50 cm (20 in) tall and broad, it grows as a lithophyte on wet, often vertical rocky surfaces at altitudes from 210 m (689 ft) to 1,200 m (3,937 ft).[1] Carnivory occurs beneath the surface, whereby tiny bladders on underground stems capture the micro-organisms which inhabit saturated soil. The visible parts of the plant are not carnivorous. Above ground it bears quantities of white flowers with pale blue markings, long forward-curved spurs and double lobes which resemble rabbits’ ears.[2]
Cultivation
Utricularia sandersonii thrives in conditions that are relatively easy to replicate at home, and so has become a popular houseplant which can tolerate temperatures down to 1 °C (34 °F), but not freezing. It must be kept moist at all times in full sun. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.[2][3]
Invasive plant
U. sandersonii is listed on the New Zealand National Pest Plant Accord since it is an invasive species.
See also
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Utricularia sandersonii. |
- Taylor, Peter. (1989). The genus Utricularia - a taxonomic monograph. Kew Bulletin Additional Series XIV: London.
- "RHS Plantfinder - Utricularia sandersonii". Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 103. Retrieved 13 January 2019.