Utricularia purpurea - (image 1 of 5)
Taxonomy
Family: Lentibulariaceae
Habitat
Quiet water.
Associates
Distribution
Quebec and Nova Scotia to MN and northern IN, south along the coastal plain to FL and LA; also in WI.
Morphology
Herbaceous perennial from turions produced late in the season; stems submersed, to 1 m; leaves in whorls of 5-7, verticillately branched into filiform segments, many of which bear a terminal bladder; flowering branches 3-15 cm with 1-4 flowers each; corolla 1 cm, violet or red-violet, the lower lip with a basal yellow spot, 3-lobed, the lateral lobes strongly and separately elevated at the base into a palate; spur shorter than and appressed to the lower lip.
Notes
Flowers July to September
Wetland indicator: OBL
This species is seemingly common in quiet bays of soft water lakes, though I have only seen it flower once in a spectacular display that can be seen in the last image. Reasonably easy to identify for its brownish-green, dichotomously branched filiform leaves that occur in whorls of 5-7 on the stems.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
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Michael Hough © 2018 |