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Lentibulariaceae FAMILY

Utricularia vulgaris

Utricularia vulgaris

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
1/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

A free-floating water plant[1], it requires acid conditions[2] and is most commonly found in deep water[3]. This species can become a noxious weed in rice paddies[4]. An insectivores plant[2]. The plant possesses bladders with trap doors. Most of the water is pumped out of the bladder, resulting in a lower pressure inside the bladder than outside. When a tiny (usually microscopic) creature touches one of the trigger hairs on the door, the door opens allowing water to rush in and carry the animal with it - the process taking just a small fraction of a second. The trap door closes and the animal is digested by the plant[4]. An aggregate species[3].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe on the surface of a pot of acid compost that is immersed in water. Division should be possible in the growing season[1]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Utricularia+vulgaris>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Flora of the British Isles. — Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. · Cambridge University Press · 1962 · ISBN - ↩︎A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
  4. [4]Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas — Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J · Botanical Research Institute, Texas. · 1999 · http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm · ISBN 1-889878-01-4 ↩︎An excellent flora, which is also available on-line.