''Utricularia heterochroma'' is a very small, possibly

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

, rheophytic

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 ...

''. ''U. heterochroma'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, where it is known from the type location at Ptari-tepui, two collections from Toronó-tepui, one collection from Apacará-tepui, one collection from Serrania Guanay, and several collections from the

Chimantá Massif The Chimantá Massif is a highly fragmented complex of tepuis in Bolívar state, Venezuela. The massif comprises around 11 tepuis and has a total summit area of and an estimated slope area of .Huber, O. (1995). Geographical and physical feature ...

. It grows as a

rheophyte A rheophyte is a plant that lives in fast moving water currents in an environment where few other organisms can survive. Rheophytes tend to be found in currents that move at rates of one to two meters per second and that are up to 1 to 2 m deep. Th ...

on wet sandstone cliffs near waterfalls among mosses at altitudes from to . It was originally described and published by

Julian Alfred Steyermark Julian Alfred Steyermark (January 27, 1909 – October 15, 1988) was a Venezuelan American botanist. His focus was on New World vegetation, and he specialized in the family Rubiaceae. Life and work Julian Alfred Steyermark was born in St. Louis, ...

in 1953.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.

References

Carnivorous plants of South America Flora of Venezuela heterochroma Flora of the Tepuis {{Lentibulariaceae-stub

See also

References