Utricularia species is a carnivorous plant with over 200 species of the plants that can be found all over the world. It has small leaves with shaped like whorls. The stem is slender and delicate like a lady’s finger. Moreover, the stalk is usually partially submerged in water. That means Utricularia species can only survive in aquatic habitat. Also, it produces unique flowers with two sepal and three-lobed lower lips. The seeds are faint, brown in color and quite a shinny and hard-shelled.
Utricularia, like other Bladderwort species, live in an aquatic environment. The plant is without a real root and grows partially submerged in water. They prefer slow-moving rivers, streams, Lakes, and marshes. Thus, you will see it in a large pound and rivers.
They cannot grow outside of an aquatic environment. Many people enquire the same issue. However, you can plant them indoors in a water trough.
Brief History of Discovery of Bladderwort Plant
It was first documented by James Sowerby, who was an English botanist at that time. James Sowerby believed the bladder in Utricularia was certainly a resting or recreational for insects because of the many insects trapped inside the bladder. Ferdinard was the first man to document the predatory nature of the plant. Ferdinard made this discovery in 1875. He tested this severally by placing water fleas around a Utricularia plant.
Charles Darwin postulated that the insects force their way into the bladder while an American botanist Mary Treat was the first to notice and document the trapdoor mechanism. She compared the bladder to the human gastrointestinal organ I human beings whose primary function is digestion and assimilation of food substances. In 1989, Peter Taylor of England reduced the species to two hundred fourteen from two hundred and fifty. Furthermore, the number of identified species is over 230.
Fun Facts About Bladderwort Plant
- There are over two hundred species of Utricularia plant and about fifty different species in the United States of America alone.
- They feed on Malaria, larvae and aquatic fleas
- Marine creatures consume Utricularia
Want to Grow Bladderwort? Here's How!
- You can plant Utricularia in many different ways. Thus, shake a Utricularia plant flower over a pond or anywhere you want to see it growing.
- You can cut and plant the portions of already matured plants.
- You should not water Utricularia plant with tap waters.
Physiology of Bladderwort's Bladder
The bladder has a curved concave shape. Also, it has a trapdoor which keeps it shut to keep insects trapped. The trapdoor has a seal watertight by a sealant which is made out of a substance called Mucilage. There is a low-pressure inside the bladder once the trapdoor closes. The bladder has two layers and is transparent when you see it from the exterior.
At the end of the trapdoor are two types of hairs — the long hair which acts as a guide to coax unknowing preys into the bladder. Moreover, the second type of hair is the shorter one, which serves the sensory function. It is the trigger hair that signals the closure of the bladder.
How the Bladderwort Traps Its Prey?
The longer hair on the trapdoor induces insects into the bladder. Once an insect touches the trigger hair on the trapdoor, it opens up for a fraction second. After that, it sucks insects struggling at the entrance of the bladder. After the trapdoor has been shut, the bladder gets rid of excess water and secrete Mucilage to create an air-tight environment from which the plant cannot escape.
How Bladderwort Species Digests Insects?
The inner layer of the bladder secretes digestive enzymes to hasten the digestion of the trapped insects. Also, the digestion process does not take as much time as the Venus flytrap plant does. It completes digestion in a matter of hours. The secretive gland also plays an absorptive role in the digested insects. The bladder typically digests many insects at once because it resets itself rather quickly. It means that if the short trigger hair triggers while digestion is taking place, it will open for the insect while absorption continues to take place.
Final Thoughts: Flowers, Pollination and Seed Formation
Utricularia has one of the most beautiful flowers you will ever see. They are available in various colors such as bright red, bubbly pink, violet, royal purple and white. Also, Utricularia has flower structure similar to Butterworts, which happens to be its distant cousin.
Utricularia’s flowers are pollinated by insects such as butterflies. Hand pollination is another useful way to fertilize the seed. This hand pollination is particularly crucial in plants that grow indoor and also for introducing a Utricularis’s species colony in a place formerly devoid of any.
