Common Bladderwort - Utricularia vulgaris



Scientific Name: Utricularia vulgaris (Lentibulariaceae).

English Name: Common Bladderwort or Greater Bladderwort (Butterwort family).

French Name: Utriculaire vulgaire.

5 Key Characters:
  • floating stems with oval bladders.
  • finely divided threadlike leaves.
  • bright yellow flowers.
  • upper lip no longer than the 'palate' of the lower lip.
  • edges of lower lip turned down.
Lookalikes: Bladderwort U. australis, which has a flat lower lip and longer upper lip.

Habitat: Still shallow fresh water in full sun.

Flowering Period: June-July-August.

Status: Rare and protected. Not recorded in the Brenne since the 19th century. Can be a conspicuous species in shallow permanent water in the Touraine Loire Valley.

References and Further Reading:
Flore remarquable du Parc naturel régional de la Brenne by Francois Pinet.
The Wild Flower Key by Francis Rose.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

All photos will enlarge in a new window if you click on them. Row 1 surviving in the drought of 2011 in what what left of the Etang de Ribaloche in the Foret de Preuilly, June.


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