The Latin name for bladderworts, Utricularia, is a reference to the use of animal bladders, or bags, that trap microscopic prey. They are highly specialized aquatic insectivorous plants that don't have roots, and can also photosynthesize. A multitasker! In other words, it's an opportunistic, floating mass of bladders with pretty flowers.
The flowers can be hard to notice among all the other large, showy aquatic contestants. They are delicate, sitting up on a fragile stalk that barely holds the bloom up out of the water. Most bladderworts have yellow flowers, but this one, the great purple bladderwort, actually has purple/pink flowers.
... until you find a variant. Yes, the great purple bladderwort named for the color of its flowers, Utricularia purpurea, can have white flowers (I believe this is quite common). May I present the purple flowered bladderwort with white flowers - there's always one breaking the 'rules'! I have both types flowering in my cove.
2 comments:
So peaceful
Love how you also caught the beauty of the water ....it looks just like a painting. You have such an eye for nature photography!
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