bio.wikisort.org - Plant

Utricularia macrorhiza, the common bladderwort,[1] is a perennial suspended aquatic carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. macrorhiza is native to North America and eastern temperate Asia.[2]

Utricularia macrorhiza
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lentibulariaceae
Genus:	Utricularia
Subgenus:	Utricularia subg. Utricularia
Section:	Utricularia sect. Utricularia
Species:	U. macrorhiza
Binomial name
Utricularia macrorhiza LeConte
Synonyms
Lentibularia vulgaris var. americana (A.Gray) Nieuwl. & Lunell Megozipa macrorhiza (LeConte) Raf. U. grandiflora Martens U. intermedia Hayne ? robbinsii Wood U. macrorhiza LeConte ex Torrey U. robbinsii (Wood) Wood [U. vulgaris Bigelow] U. vulgaris var. americana A.Gray U. vulgaris subsp. macrorhiza (LeConte) Clausen

Description

U. macrorhiza is a floating plant with six to twenty large, bilaterally symmetrical, yellow flowers that appear in June, July, and August, and are held on an erect stem.[3] U. macrorhiza is distinguished from other similar species by its flowers, which are larger than those found on any other bladderwort.[3]

The bladders which give common bladderwort its name are used to trap and consume prey.[3] Small organisms trigger the hairs on the pores of the bladder as they brush against it, causing the pore to open inward, allowing a rush of water into the bladder which pulls the prey in as well.[3] The pore immediately closes behind the prey, which is then digested by enzymes within the bladder.[3] The process of trapping the prey from opening to closing the pore takes place in 0.002 seconds.[3] If large prey becomes stuck in the pore, the prey is digested by the enzymes bit by bit until the pore closes again.[3]

Distribution

In North America, U. macrorhiza is found throughout the United States and Canada.[1][3] In this range, it is found mostly in ponds and lakes, but also in slow-moving streams and rivers.[3] It shares the northern half of its range with a similar, related species, U. minor, lesser bladderwort.[1]

See also

• List of Utricularia species

References

External links

• USDA plant profile

---