''Utricularia macrorhiza'', the common bladderwort,
is a
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 wid ...
suspended aquatic
carnivorous plant that belongs to the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
''
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. macrorhiza'' is native to
North America and eastern temperate
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
.
[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 '' ...
''. Kew Bulletin Additional Series XIV: London.
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.
''U. macrorhiza'' is distinguished from other similar species by its flowers, which are larger than those found on any other bladderwort.
The bladders which give common bladderwort its name are used to trap and consume prey.
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.
The pore immediately closes behind the prey, which is then digested by enzymes within the bladder.
The process of trapping the prey from opening to closing the pore takes place in 0.002 seconds.
If large prey becomes stuck in the pore, the prey is digested by the enzymes bit by bit until the pore closes again.
Distribution
In North America, ''U. macrorhiza'' is found throughout the United States and Canada.
In this range, it is found mostly in ponds and lakes, but also in slow-moving streams and rivers.
It shares the northern half of its range with a similar, related species,
''U. minor,'' lesser bladderwort''.''
See also
*
List of ''Utricularia'' species
References
External links
USDA plant profile
Carnivorous plants of Asia
Carnivorous plants of North America
Flora of Canada
Flora of China
Flora of Mexico
Flora of Russia
Flora of the United States
macrorhiza
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