Utricularia vulgaris
Bladderwort
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Lentibulariaceae
- Genus
- Utricularia
- Life cycle
- perennial
- Spread
- 1 m
- Fertility
- Bees
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
- Pollinators
- Bees
Uses
Edible uses
Root[2]. No more details are given, but the root can be up to 1 metre long though it is rather thin. Another report says that this is a floating aquatic plant with submerged root-like capillary branches[6]. Leaves[2]. No more details are given. The juice of the plant is drunk for its rich mineral content[6].
- Product or use
- Drink
- Plant part
- Leaves
- Plant part
- Root
Medicinal uses
Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.
The whole plant is mildly astringent, diuretic and vulnerary[6].It is used as a poultice on wounds[6].
- Product or use
- Diuretic
- Product or use
- Vulnerary
Environment
- Range
- Europe, including Britain, from Norway south and east to N. Africa, temperate Asia.
- Habitat
- Ponds, lakes and ditches, usually in relatively deep water[1].
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- no shade
- Water
- aquatic
- Hardiness
- Zone 5+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy, clay
- Soil pH
- very acid, acid
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe on the surface of a pot of acid compost that is immersed in water. Division should be possible in the growing season[3].
Cultivation
A free-floating water plant[3], it requires acid conditions[4] and is most commonly found in deep water[1]. This species can become a noxious weed in rice paddies[5]. An insectivores plant[4]. The plant possesses bladders with trap doors. Most of the water is pumped out of the bladder, resulting in a lower pressure inside the bladder than outside. When a tiny (usually microscopic) creature touches one of the trigger hairs on the door, the door opens allowing water to rush in and carry the animal with it - the process taking just a small fraction of a second. The trap door closes and the animal is digested by the plant[5]. An aggregate species[1].
References
Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00
Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977-00-00
Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas Botanical Research Institute, Texas. 1999-00-00 http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm
Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984-00-00 ISBN 0-356-10541-5