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Utricularia juncea  |
U. juncea  |
| These plants are technically called terrestrial plants because the stem is virtually leafless and the florets are borne at the tip of the stem. Normally there are one to five florist per stem. Leaves are grass-like and are located at the base of the flowering stem. Food stuff for the Horned Bladderwort is small organisms that are sucked out of the water into bladders that are located in the root system below water surface. Its intake is somewhat like a fish "breathing" through its mouth and gills. Horned Bladderwort is prevalent in wet places, such as mosquito breeding grounds. They appear a lot like Butter-and-Eggs of the Buttercup family, but are much smaller, measuring about 3/4 inches in length, including the attendant spur. At best, they reach of height of about 10 inches at full maturity depending on its food source. |
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Pinguicula caerulea  |
P. lutea  |
| Butterwort is found in moist, sandy sites and especially prevalent in bogs and flood zones of the Escambia region. The leaf of these large-flowered plants are oily and viscose. When a small insect hits the leaf it sticks. The leaf then begins to curl its outer edges inward to envelop the insect; releases an enzyme that dissolves the capture and then absorbs it through leaf pores. |
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The scientific name implies "fat," which alludes to the greasy touch on the upper leaf surface. Violet Butterwort is a small insectivorous perennial herb with a basal rosette of egg-shaped to oblong leaves that lay flat on the ground and having a slimy feel. Its flower scape ends in a single flower that is light blue to nearly white. The calyx is five lobed and the corolla is two-lipped and spurred. In most cases it will have a white ring in the center and a yellow beard inside the lower lip (seen here). This carnivorous plant sends up a tall leafless stem from February to May and is generally found in bogs and moist woods; occasionally in running water. While some authorities state that the plant is localized from Wakulla to Bay counties of Florida it is also known in several counties of the Panhandle beyond those stated and is known along the Escambia and Blackwater rivers in marshes and bogs along the flood zones of those streams. |