10 replies to this topic

[TomQc]

I am growing this species, but after several years of cleistogamous flowers (well, it looked alike!) and small linear leaves, I always thought it was Utricularia subulata. But after having a cool winter on a windowsill and on a basement ground, it is making 'true' flowers at last! After comparing with some pictures of U.subulata on CP Photo finder, I remarked that U.subulata seems to have a larger/bigger lip than mine is showing, or at least that the spur is supposed to be as long as it, but it is not the case on my flower. Is it a very variabe species or it might be something else?








After a search on few Utrics website, I found a similar species: U.pusilla. What do you think about this hypothesis?

[Dieter]

Hi Tom,

I agree that the front view does not look like my Ut. subulata. You can find my pictures here (I do not post them here directly to keep loading times short):
front: http://www.strike9.c...ulata klein.jpg
profile: http://www.strike9.c...lata Profil.jpg

However, other yellow flowered Utricularia have not yet flowered in my hands, so I can not help you with any suggestions about the species you have.

Best regards,
Dieter

[Giles_KS]

U. subulata is very variable, being an extremely widespread species. U. pusilla has sterile bracts, i.e. bracts without flowers on the inflorescence, between the bracts below the stalks of individual flowers. U. subulata might have flower-less bracts below the first fertile one, but not above it.

Giles

[TomQc]

Here is a old picture of what I called 'cleistogamous flowers'. They set seeds, and even if most look dried on the pictures, they don't look much different if they were alive

(Picture had been moved to the top of the post)

[UtricSeb]

It doesn´t look like U.pusilla to me.  Can you post a picture of the flower stalk from its base to the flower??

[TomQc]

Sure! I had to take 2 shots to see leaves/ground detail and the whole plant.

(Pictures have been moved to the top of the post)

[SnowyFalcon]

If you'll take the opinion of a Utric amateur, I think it could be U. flaccida.    My U. flaccida hasn't flowered yet, but I know that it will be yellow.  The leaves look pretty similar too.

SF

[TomQc]

SF: I am taking any opinion in fact! I am far from being an expert in Utricularia, even though i am not considering my as an expert in any genus

On all my pots putting off scapes, near half the flowers buds turned out to be cleistogamous finally, as you can see on the 3rd picture, the bud at left is already forming a seed pod, and it never formed a flower as the first and 2nd pictures show.

Even though, I am happy to see it flower after all those year, and will continue the same treatment to 'insure' others similars flowering in the next year... It should set seeds very soon, so if anyone is interested by the mystery, let it me know!

[vic brown]

It doesn't look like my U. flaccida



Vic

[TomQc]

I am coming back from university with some new pictures! I succeed to take some pictures as some on PFT forums told us about (holding a digital cam in a microscope ocular) and come up with those pictures: they are not perfect, but they give a good idea of the bladder (and a little idea of the seed).

After checking in Aquatic and wetland plants of northeastern North America - Volume 1 : Pteridophytes, gymnosperms and and angiosperms: Dicotyledons (Crow & Hellquist, 2000) for botanical drawings of Utricularia subulata, I found them pretty similar in shape in comparison of my specimen. Have a look, and tell me what you think... I think it is finally, perhaps, U.subulata, but if any experts (or owner of Taylor's book) want to confirm, it will be appreciated! (Sorry for the seed, kinda blurry!)

I am coming back from university with some new pictures! I succeed to take some pictures as Nick Hubbel told us about (holding a digital cam in a microscope ocular) and come up with those pictures: they are not perfect, but they give a good idea of the bladder (and a little idea of the seed).

After checking in Aquatic and wetland plants of northeastern North America - Volume 1 : Pteridophytes, gymnosperms and and angiosperms: Dicotyledons (Crow & Hellquist, 2000) for botanical drawings of Utricularia subulata, I found them pretty similar in shape in comparison of my specimen. Have a look, and tell me what you think... I think it is finally, perhaps, U.subulata, but if any experts (or owner of Taylor's book) want to confirm, it will be appreciated! (Sorry for the seed, kinda blurry!)

The equipement for phase contrasting (How do you call this in english?) and mesuring ocular were unavailable, but I should be able to work with them and come up with some measures soon and more constrated pictures. Both pictures have been took at 40x, the first one on a microscope, the second one on a dissection binocular, but the size has been changed by the digi cam...  

[Giles_KS]

From your photo, the trap looks much more like U. pusilla than U. subulata (which has fewer of the spiky appendages around the mouth) or U. flaccida, which is a different shape altogether (looking at Taylor's drawings. Have a look at the inflorescence again and see if sterile bracts are present.

Giles