Utricularia floridana Nash

Florida Bladderwort

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Florida Bladderwort is a native aquatic perennial in the Bladderwort family (Lentibulariaceae). It occurs in karst ponds, sinkholes, and slow-moving streams. Florida Bladderwort is found in the southern most tier of counties in Alabama. It is a perennial with free floating stems with a single point of attachment. It grows in water approximately 1 meter in depth or deeper. The stems are of two types—bladder branches and foliar branches. The stems are green to reddish-purple in color. Leaves are alternate and dissected into filiform sections. Leaves on bladder branches are smaller and more densely arranged, appearing like “fox tails”. Small hollow traps (bladders) are produced along the margins of the leaf segments. The bladders are common on the bladder branches but few on the foliar branches. The bladders are hollow with a hinged lid. The plant pumps the water out of the bladder trap creating negative pressure. There are bristle like “triggers” located near the opening. When a small animal touches the bristles, the lid of the trap opens inward, sucking in water and the animal. The lid then closes and the prey is digested. Flowers are produced on an elongated raceme held above the water’s surface. The raceme is a foot or more in length with 8-25 flowers, and relatively thick in diameter. The individual flowers are stalked with a 2-lobed calyx. The corolla is 2-lipped with the upper lip 3-lobed and the lower lip 2-lobed. The flower is yellow in color with reddish-brown lines near the center of the flower. The flower has a short spur that is shorter than the lower lip of the corolla. The fruit is a round capsule. Florida Bladderwort is listed as a S1S2 species in Alabama (S1 - Typically 5 or fewer occurrences, very few remaining individuals, acres, or miles of stream, or some factor of its biology making it especially vulnerable in the state. S2 - Typically 6 to 20 occurrences, few remaining individuals, acres, or miles of stream, or factors demonstrably making it very

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Native OBL (NWPL) S1S2 (State Rank) G4 (Global Rank)

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