Utricularia reniformis


Utricularia reniformis is a large perennial carnivorous plant that belongs to the Bladderwort genus Utricularia of the family Lentibulariaceae. U. reniformis is endemic to Brazil. It was originally published and described by Augustin Saint-Hilaire in 1830. It usually grows as a terrestrial plant in wet grasslands and only sometimes as an epiphyte in the water-filled leaf axils of some bromeliad species. It is typically found between altitudes of and in its southern range and up to in its northern range. It has been collected in flower between October and March.

Description

The foliage leaves are kidney-shaped and about wide. The ingenious trap leaves grow out of the succulent white rhizome and remain below the surface of the soil or mulch. The two to five zygomorphic flowers are on an upright raceme and have two vertical gold stripes edged with purple on the upper half of the corolla.