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Botanical Name : Utricularia vulgaris
Family: Lentibulariaceae
Genus: Utricularia
Species: U. vulgaris
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales
Common Name:Bladderwort
Habitat :Bladderwort found in Asia and Europe. In eastern Asia and North America, its place is taken by the related species U. macrorhiza.
Description:
Bladderworts are carnivorous plants with delicate, finely-divided underwater leaves and emergent snapdragon-like yellow flowers. The most distinctive underwater features are the small bladder-like traps. These traps use a vacuum to capture small invertebrates or even tiny fish that trigger the trap door. Enzymes are secreted to digest the prey which provides the plant with nutrients. Several bladderwort species are found in Washington. click & see
Leaf: No true leaves. Instead both species have green, highly branched, finely divided underwater leaf-like stems with small seed-like bladders. Bladderwort plants often appear dense and bushy underwater. Swollen bladderwort has a distinctive spoke-like whorl of 4 to 10 wedge-shaped floating leaves, 4 to 9 cm long, which supports the flower stalk.
Stem: The branched stem is up to 2 m long and can be floating, submersed, or partly creeping on the sediment, sometimes anchored at the base by root-like structures.
Flower: Yellow, snapdragon-like flowers occur above the water. Swollen bladderwort: flowers to 20 mm wide, in groups of 3 to 14 on upright stalks supported by a spoke-like float. Flowers in spring in Washington. Common bladderwort: flowers to 25 mm wide on stout stalks, with a prominent spur projecting below the lower lip of the flower. Flowers often have faint purple-brown stripes. Flowers in late summer.
Fruit: Capsule contains many seeds. Swollen bladderwort: fruit stalk (pedicel) to 35 mm long. Common bladderwort: fruit stalk (pedicel) to 20 mm long.
Root: None.
Propagation: Fragments, seeds. Swollen bladderwort: may form tiny tubers, small coiled winterbuds. Common bladderwort: may form very large (4-5 cm across) bright green winterbuds.
Medicinal Uses:
The whole plant is mildly astringent, diuretic and vulnerary. It is used as a poultice on wounds.
Other Uses:Food and cover for fish. Food for muskrats and waterfowl. Habitat for aquatic invertebrates. Swollen bladderwort: can become invasive.
Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/plantid2/descriptions/utrinf.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utricularia_vulgaris
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm
http://www.actaplantarum.org/cpg1414/thumbnails.php?album=2637
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