Utricularia inflata Walter
Swollen bladderwort, Floating bladderwort
Lentibulariaceae (Bladderwort Family)
USDA Symbol: UTIN
A carnivorous, aquatic plant with several yellow flowers on a stem that rises above the water over a wheel-like float of inflated leaf stalks.
When swimming prey, such as minute crustaceans, touch the trigger hairs surrounding the mouth of one of the bladders, a trapdoor-like flap of tissue swings open and the bladder quickly expands, sucking the organisms inside. Enzymes are secreted to dissolve the prey into nutritional elements for the plant. Among the fifteen species that occur in eastern North America, only this one has floats. Reversed Bladderwort (U. resupinata) and Purple Bladderwort (U. purpurea) have purple flowers. U. olivacea is the most delicate. The entire plant is no longer than a dime, with a yellowish-white flower less than 1/10 (2.5 mm) long borne on a stalk 1/10-1/3 (2.5-8 mm) tall. Greater Bladderwort (U. vulgaris) is a common yellow-flowering form that lacks the inflated leaf stalks.
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Bloom InformationBloom Time: May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov
DistributionUSA: AL , AR , DE , FL , GA , KY , LA , MD , MS , NC , NJ , NY , OK , SC , TN , TX , VA , WA
Native Distribution: Nova Scotia and New England south to Florida; west to Texas; north to Tennessee; northwest to Indiana.
Native Habitat: Ponds and ditches.
National Wetland Indicator Status
BibliographyBibref 248 - Texas Wildflowers: A Field Guide (1984) Loughmiller, C. & L. Loughmiller
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From the ArchiveWildflower Newsletter 1996 VOL. 13, NO.2 - Annual Wildflower Days Festival, Wildflower Center Hotline, The Visitor Experien...
Additional resourcesUSDA: Find Utricularia inflata in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Utricularia inflata in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Utricularia inflata
MetadataRecord Modified: 2012-11-05
Research By: TWC Staff