''Utricularia bisquamata'' is a small

annual Annual may refer to: * Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook ** Literary annual * Annual plant * Annual report * Annual giving * Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco * Annuals (b ...

carnivorous plant Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryot ...

that belongs to the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Utricularia ''Utricularia'', commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species (precise counts differ based on classification opinions; a 2001 publication lists 215 species).Salmon, Br ...

''. It is native to southern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, where it can be found in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. ''U. bisquamata'' grows as a terrestrial plant in damp, sandy or

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

y soils among mosses by streams or wet depressions at altitudes from near sea level to in South Africa and up to in Angola. It was originally described and published by

Franz von Paula Schrank Franz von Paula Schrank (21 August 1747, in Vornbach – 22 December 1835) was a German priest, botanist and entomologist. He was ordained as a priest in Vienna in 1784, gaining his doctorate in theology two years later. In 1786 he was named ...

in 1824.Taylor, Peter. (1989). ''

The genus Utricularia - a taxonomic monograph ''The Genus Utricularia: A Taxonomic Monograph'' is a monograph by Peter Taylor on the carnivorous plant genus ''Utricularia'', the bladderworts. It was published in 1989 by Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) as the fourteenth entry in the ''K ...

''. Kew Bulletin Additional Series XIV: London.

Description

''Utricularia bisquamata'' is a small annual herb growing to a height of about . It has a rosette of narrow leaves and wiry stems supporting racemes of flowers with two lips, white, pale violet or occasionally yellow. The upper lip is small with two or three lobes and the lower lip has two short lobes at the side and acentral lobe. The base of the lower lip has a patch of yellow which is variable in size. The traps, translucent, are developed in the roots.

Distribution and habitat

''Utricularia bisquamata'' is native to southern Africa where it occurs in Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho and Madagascar, and forms part of the

fynbos Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean clim ...

community. The typical habitat of this species is acidic, boggy soils in sandstone areas where it grows among mosses in wet places.

In cultivation

''U. bisquamata is'' sometimes found in cultivation and germinates freely from seed. The cultivar "Betty's Bay" has larger, more colourful flowers.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q149572 Carnivorous plants of Africa Flora of Angola Flora of Lesotho Flora of Madagascar Flora of Namibia Flora of South Africa bisquamata