# All about Utricularia (Bladderworts)



## Fortuna Wolf

My thread wherein I was looking to buy some U. graminifolia started to turn into a general discussion about the genus so I thought it best to start a discussion thread here. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/sale-trade/53499-wtb-utricularia-graminifolia.html

Utricularia is the genus containing terrestrial (~80% of species), aquatic (~15% of species), and epiphytic (~5% of species) carnivorous plants. They are well adapted to nutrient poor soils and bodies of water with high light conditions. In nature they grow in areas with plentiful water and sunlight where the limiter is having very nutrient poor soils. In order to obtain nutrients they have bladder traps that digest small animals. Aquatics in general tend to have larger traps, sometimes up to a few mm in diameter. Terrestrials and epiphytes have smaller traps, usually under a mm. For the aquarium we should only concern ourselves with the terrestrials and aquatics.

The aquatics have feathery leaves and generally float in the water, though the smaller species can wrap themselves around plants and rocks and grow that way. U. gibba, U. inflata, and especially U. olivacea are examples of smaller Utricularia that easily become invasive in the aquarium. Avoid these, they're only marginally easier to get rid of than Cladophora. Some of the larger species like U. foliosa, U. macrorhiza, and U. striata may do well in the aquarium. They can be divided into those that grow suspended and affixed to sediment but in general their stems are almost always above the substrate and they don't form flattened leaves.

Also, Aldrovanda vesicularia (Waterwheel) is not a bladderwort though it is very similar in habit and form. It is the closest relative of Dionea musicupla (Venus' Flytrap) - the trapping mechanisms are fundamentally different.

PS: some of the Utricularia have terrestrial AND aquatic forms, while others have only one form.

Terrestrials have flat blade leaves, roots, and submersed traps. They grow via rhizomes under the substrate. So far I am only aware of one species being used in the aquarium trade, U. graminifolia. I estimate however that there should be 150 other terrestrial species with potential to grow submersed and anchored to the substrate. My hypothesis is this: Terrestrial Utricularia are adapted to growing in waterlogged soils with their roots and traps permanently submersed even though their leaves may not be. They must also tolerate periodic flooding for sustained periods of time. These conditions indicate a plant that has potential to grow fully submersed in the aquarium. U. graminifolia is an example of this.

If you want to learn more, check out this FAQ http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq5580.html

If anyone happens upon a terrestrial one (they are very inconspicuous, you usually have to catch them in bloom to ID them) consider trying it out submersed. I have identified 4 terrestrial species that grow nearby and I'm going to try to collect some for the aquarium.


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## Fortuna Wolf

Further reading indicates that there are more growth forms. We're looking for ones that can grow as "subaffixed aquatics"
In particular, U. cornuta looks to be extremely promising in this regard, especially since its very small and cute. This grows locally and I will attempt to locate it.


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## E.niddleton

Thanks for the info.


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## Ozymandias

thank you for this. do you have any more spacifi info on Utricularia graminifolia ?


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## Fortuna Wolf

U. graminifolia is in subgenus Bivalvaria, section Oligocista. Its known to the botanical world to grow as a terrestrial/affixed aquatic and is from China/Indo-Pacific. Mislabeling is apparently common so a proper ID would require growing the flowers. 

This subgenus is composed of terrestrials with a few doubling as affixed aquatics.

U. bosminifera, foeveolata, heterosepala, reticulata, smithiana, and uliginosa are all listed as also being affixed aquatics. These grow across Asia and Australia mainly.


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## E.niddleton

Does anyone know if U.G. will attach to driftwood or rocks


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## HeyPK

There is a strange website called Galleria Carnivora that has a huge collection of Utricularia pictures and habitat pictures. It is well worth your time to explore this site.

http://www.sarracenia.com/galleria/g112.html


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## prBrianpr

what utricularias grow well in th aquarim submersed like graminifolia?


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## Fortuna Wolf

Brian, so far all we have tested for sure is U. graminifolia. I've identified a few other potentially interesting ones but they haven't been tried out.


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## tundrafour

I found this thread while looking for information about growing U. graminifolia immersed.

Terrestrial Utricularia produce lots and lots of tiny, orchid-like blooms. (Some species do this more easily than others, though!) Here is a picture of one of mine in September, 2007:










Easily as pretty above water as underwater. Anyone growing U. graminifolia in their aquarium should consider growing some emersed, as well.


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## TNguyen

tundrafour said:


> I found this thread while looking for information about growing U. graminifolia immersed.
> 
> Terrestrial Utricularia produce lots and lots of tiny, orchid-like blooms. (Some species do this more easily than others, though!) Here is a picture of one of mine in September, 2007:
> 
> 
> 
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> 
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> 
> Easily as pretty above water as underwater. Anyone growing U. graminifolia in their aquarium should consider growing some emersed, as well.


Wow, now I have to try this too.


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## edwardn

Utricularia graminifolia is featured on 'Tropica' page and in thei catalogue

http://www.tropica.com/default.asp

Quite interesting!


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## Bunbuku

This place sells it on-line http://www.carnivorousplantnursery.com/sales/salesplants.htm. I took a chance and ordered some. They will be shipping next week.


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## DBTS

tundrafour said:


> I found this thread while looking for information about growing U. graminifolia immersed.
> 
> Terrestrial Utricularia produce lots and lots of tiny, orchid-like blooms. (Some species do this more easily than others, though!) Here is a picture of one of mine in September, 2007:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Easily as pretty above water as underwater. Anyone growing U. graminifolia in their aquarium should consider growing some emersed, as well.


Hi! Any tip's in growing this beaut' emersed?


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## Nelumbo74

Quote from Fortuna Wolf 08/2008:

"If anyone happens upon a terrestrial one (they are very inconspicuous, you usually have to catch them in bloom to ID them) consider trying it out submersed. I have identified 4 terrestrial species that grow nearby and I'm going to try to collect some for the aquarium."

*Please be cautious when collecting U.S. Native carnivorous plants*. Quite a few, if not most, of them are endangered in the wild, and it is a *Federal* offense to collect them. If you don't know exactly what species you are collecting, then please do not take it from the wild. It might be one of the few of it's kind remaining. If you do know what species you are collecting, then please check with the USDA via the site below to make sure it is not Federally endangered or protected on a state level.

The best option is to purchase the plants from a reputable seller that has gotten permission to collect starter plants, and is selling only plants that have been propagated in their nursery.

Our love for plants should not be the cause of their demise.

http://www.plants.usda.gov/index.html


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## TNguyen

Bunbuku said:


> This place sells it on-line http://www.carnivorousplantnursery.com/sales/salesplants.htm. I took a chance and ordered some. They will be shipping next week.


You beat me to it. I will order some after this weekend. Let me know how big the portion is.


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## Bunbuku

TNguyen said:


> You beat me to it. I will order some after this weekend. Let me know how big the portion is.


Email from Michael Szesze at CPN sales stated a portion was 2x2".


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## maxima

tundrafour said:


> I found this thread while looking for information about growing U. graminifolia immersed.
> 
> Terrestrial Utricularia produce lots and lots of tiny, orchid-like blooms. (Some species do this more easily than others, though!) Here is a picture of one of mine in September, 2007:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Easily as pretty above water as underwater. Anyone growing U. graminifolia in their aquarium should consider growing some emersed, as well.


Are you kidding me...This is beyond gorgeous.


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## dgphelps

Wow, I would setup a tank for that alone. That is pretty.


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## davemonkey

That's absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for sharing the photo, tundrafour!!!


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## amphirion

apparently UG has the ability to propagate itself from its leaves. I have several leaves that became detached during the planting process and they are beginning to develop trap/root structures underneath the leaf. has anybody else noticed this?


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## mr_convitbau

amphirion said:


> apparently UG has the ability to propagate itself from its leaves. I have several leaves that became detached during the planting process and they are beginning to develop trap/root structures underneath the leaf. has anybody else noticed this?


oh yeah... i have seen the same on some of mine...

btw... how long did it take your UG to acclimate to your tank???... mine seems to take forever... some of mine just keep uprooting and floating.... the other completely disappeared after i bought them... they maybe melted away....

i bought a bunch... but now there are only a very small amount left... is there any chance it will make it???

i noticed some have grown into some thread-like things without any leaves or roots.. however those things have the bladders... are those gonna develop roots and leaves later???

did you experience the same problem with your UG initially???...

also... since some of the UG are floating... can they still grow while floating?....


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## amphirion

mr_convitbau said:


> oh yeah... i have seen the same on some of mine...
> 
> btw... how long did it take your UG to acclimate to your tank???... mine seems to take forever... some of mine just keep uprooting and floating.... the other completely disappeared after i bought them... they maybe melted away....
> 
> i bought a bunch... but now there are only a very small amount left... is there any chance it will make it???
> 
> i noticed some have grown into some thread-like things without any leaves or roots.. however those things have the bladders... are those gonna develop roots and leaves later???
> 
> did you experience the same problem with your UG initially???...
> 
> also... since some of the UG are floating... can they still grow while floating?....


i planted my UG approximately around august 8th. it's established for the most part, i can see side runners and traps spreading through the substrate against the glass. 
i think the reason why your UG floats is because you didn't dig deep enough. one thing to note is that the entire plant is quite versatile, leaves can produce traps, roots produce traps, roots come from leaves, so it doesn't really matter that you partially bury some of the leaves--they hold on better that way.

the thing about carnivorous plants is that they have a shock period where they are severely stressed going from one environment to another, during this time, they shed leaves and pull back a bit. however, once when they are established, they thrive.

another thing, although this isn't confirmed yet, but check your nitrate levels. utricularia, and carnivorous plants in general are adapted to nitrogen poor soils and conditions--high levels of nitrates could be responsible for your UG meltage.

UG can still grow when it is floating. it does not derive nutrients from the soil as dependently as other aquatic plants, but consumes small inverts (paramecium, baby amphipods).

as for your detatched root structures, i think you might be out of luck...the plant needs some sort of photosynthetic component in order to survive. leaves are probably most successful for speedy propagation.


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## stuckintexas

if what you say is true about the nitrogen, maybe more frequent water changes for a few weeks may help it from melting away.


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## Zapins

tundrafour - what were the lighting conditions that you had the utricularia in when it bloomed? How many hours of light/dark did it have and what was the light source? I am trying to flower mine with 13 hours of light and 11 dark now but it hasn't flowered yet. I am beginning to think it requires long nights to bloom, but am not sure...


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## armedbiggiet

heat... they like cooler water, most of the cases I hear are heat issues.


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## armedbiggiet

tundrafour said:


> I found this thread while looking for information about growing U. graminifolia immersed.
> 
> Terrestrial Utricularia produce lots and lots of tiny, orchid-like blooms. (Some species do this more easily than others, though!) Here is a picture of one of mine in September, 2007:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Easily as pretty above water as underwater. Anyone growing U. graminifolia in their aquarium should consider growing some emersed, as well.


There are also yellow and pink ones. I was told my is pink cause the place was collected. Different place have different colors. Without flowering you can not really tell.


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## Zapins

I looked it up. UG is native to China, India, Japan, Burma, and Thailand. It flowers in late summer to early autumn. During this time there is about 5.5 hours of light in these countries, which means there is about 18.5 hours of darkness. 

So, based on this information I conclude that UG is a long night plant, which means if it is to be flowered, it must not see light at all during the 18.5 hours of darkness or it will interrupt the flowering process. Probably 10-20 days of this low light will cause it to flower.


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## oscarjamayaa

Do you know the minimun temperature at what UG can be growed emersed¿?


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## tundrafour

Sorry to everyone whose reply I neglected! I completely forgot I posted that picture, and just found the thread again while searching (again!) for information about U. graminifolia.

I didn't do anything special at all for the plant in the picture. The substrate was peat moss, perlite, and sand, I usually kept it pretty damp (pretty sure I just used tap water), and had about 55 watts of NO T5 lighting over it (along with a few other containers of carnivorous plants) for around eight hours a day. No heating or anything like that. It produced tons of blooms whenever the soil dried out a little.

Has anyone been growing emersed Utricularias? I have two, but nothing worth posting pictures of, unfortunately!

Edit: I forgot that I would also squirt a CC or two of aquarium water into the container every now and then, since Utricularias trap tiny aquatic organisms.


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