Utricularia purpurea Walter

Purple Bladderwort

Herb

Annual

Vascular

Purple Bladderwort is a native aquatic annual or perennial in the Bladderwort family (Lentibulariaceae). It occurs in acidic ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams. Purple Bladderwort is found primarily in tannin-rich waters in southern Alabama. It is a perennial with free floating stems in shallow water. The stems are purplish or pale green in color. Leaves are whorled, flattened, and divided into 5-7 linear segments. Small hollow traps (bladders) are produced along the margins of the leaf segments. 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 1-5 flowered racemes held above the water’s surface. Individual flowers are stalked. The corolla is pinkish-purple in color, 2-lipped, with the lower lip 3-lobed. The upper lip is smaller than the lower lip. The lower lip has a white and yellow spot at its base and is equal to or slightly longer than the curved horn-shaped white spur. The fruit is a round capsule. Purple Bladderwort traps often are dark in color and seem to be non-functional. They contain colonies of bacteria, algae, diatoms, and other micro-organisms that may provide the plant with nutrients in a mutualistic relationship. In cold climates Purple Bladderwort is an annual that produces small buds called turions that drop to the bottom and overwinter in the mud.--A. Diamond.

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Native OBL (NWPL)

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