Utricularia
(from utriculus, a little bottle; alluding to the minute, pitcher-like bodies developed on the leaves and roots). Bladderwort; Hooded Water Milfoil. ORD. Lentibularieae. A large genus (nearly 150 species) of cosmopolitan, stove, greenhouse, or hardy, floating, epiphytal (e.g., montana), or terrestrial herbs. Calyx two-parted or deeply two-lobed; corolla spur often incurved; upper lip erect, entire, emarginate, or bifid; lower one often large and spreading, three to six-lobed; scape simple or slightly branched, one-flowered or bearing a many-flowered raceme. Leaves of the floating species many-partite, with capillary segments, furnished with minute pitchers, which entrap animalcules; those of the erect species entire. U. intermedia, U. minor, U. neglecta, and U. vulgaris, are worthy of being grown as curiosities. The first thrives in shallow pans of water in which sphagnum has been established, and the other three in deeper vessels; towards winter, all four form compact, round winter buds--at the ends of the branches--which fall to the bottom of the water and remain there until the following spring. U. Endresii and U. montana do best in baskets of fibry peat and sphagnum, suspended near the glass. U. Humboldtii and U. reniformis will grow in large pots of peat and sphagnum, partially plunged in water. U. bifida thrives in a pot of ordinary soil, placed a few inches below the surface of a warm tank. U. bifida (bifid).* fl., corolla bright yellow, with a very large and prominent, hemispheric, orange-yellow palate, the upper lip reflexed, the lower very short and two-lobed; scapes numerous, erect, two to five times as long as the leaves. September. l. erect, 1in. to 2in. long, filiform or slightly thickened upwards, bright green. Hong Kong, 1882. Plant densely tufted. Greenhouse. (B. M. 6689.) U. Endresii (Endres').* fl. drooping, on very slender pedicels; sepals pale greenish or reddish, 1/2in. to 3/4in. long; corolla pale lilac, with a yellow palate, 1 3/4in. to 2in. in diameter, beautifully ciliolate all round; scape twice as long as the long leaves, erect, about five-flowered. Spring. l. solitary, 1in. to 3in. long, narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, narrowed into stiff petioles of the same length. Rhizomes slender, creeping, bearing ovoid tubercles 1/4in. long. Costa Rica, 1874. Stove. (B. M. 6656.) SYN. U. montana rosea (of gardens).
U. Humboldtii (Humboldt's).* fl. bluish-purple, large, terminal, racemose, on short pedicels; sepals dark fuscous, leafy, convex, ovate, acute; upper lip of the corolla small, entire, slightly inflexed at apex, the lower one dilated, truncate, yellow and excavated at base; spur subulate, ascending-decurved; scape very long, glabrous, sparsely bracteate. l. usually solitary, obcordate, attenuated into a long petiole. Root fibrous. Guiana, 1886. Stove. (F. d. S. 1390.) U. intermedia (intermediate). fl. pale yellow; upper lip of the corolla far exceeding the palate; scape rather stout, three or four-flowered. July to September. l. distichous, closely set, 1/4in. to 1/2in. broad, orbicular, dichotomously multifid; segments subulate, distinctly ciliated; pitchers on leafless branches, 1/8in. to 1/4in. long. Stems slender, 4in. to 8in. long. Europe, &c. (Sy. En. B. 1127.) U. minor (lesser). fl. pale yellow; corolla 1/3in. long, with a minute, obtuse spur; scapes 2in. to 6in. long, bearing two to six flowers. June to September. l. lax, 1/8in. to 1/4in. broad, orbicular, dichotomously multifid; segments subulate, quite entire; pitchers on the leaf axils, one line long. Stems capillary, 3in. to 10in. long. Europe, &c. (Sy. En. B. 1126.) U. montana (mountain-loving).* fl. one to four, 1 1/2in. in diameter; calyx lobes pale green, ovate-cordate, obtuse; corolla white, with a yellow palate and disk to the lower lip; upper lip with re-curved edges, the lower one twice as large; spur a stout, incurved horn; scape much longer than the leaves, erect. July. l. 4in. to 6in. long, erect, elliptic-lanceolate, narrowed into slender petioles. Roots of ovoid, stalked, hollow, green tubers, 1/3in. to 1/2in. long. West Indies, 1871. Stove epiphyte. (B. M. 5923; F. d. S. 1942; F. M. n. s. 83; G. C. 1871, 1039; I. H. n. s. 64.) U. m. rosea (pink). A garden synonym of U. Endressii. U. neglecta (neglected). fl. pale yellow; upper lip of corolla exceeding the palate; scape very slender. June to August. l. smaller than those of U. vulgaris, rather remote, nearly orbicular; segments entire. Stems capillary, 6in. to 8in. long. Europe (Britain). (Sy. En. B. 1125 bis.) U. reniformis (kidney-shaped). fl. rose-coloured, with two darker-coloured lines, 1in. to 1 1/2in. across; scape 1 1/2ft. to 2ft. long, many-flowered. l. reniform, sometimes 3in. across; petioles 6in. to 12in. long. Brazil, &c., 1886. A gigantic species.
U. vulgaris (common). fl. yellow; corolla 1/2in. to 3/4in. long, with a conical spur; scape 4in. to 8in. long, two to eight-flowered. July and August. l. spreading, 3/4in. to 1in. long, broadly ovate, pinnately multifid; segments remotely toothed; pitchers at the bases of and upon the leaf segments, 1/8in. to 1/4in. long, shortly stalked. Stems 6in. to 18in. long, leafy. Europe (Britain), &c. (Sy. En. B. 1125.)