Pinguicula lusitanica

Taxobox
name = Pale Butterwort


image_width = 250px
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Lamiales
familia = Lentibulariaceae
genus = "Pinguicula"
species = "P. lusitanica"
binomial = "Pinguicula lusitanica"
binomial_authority = L.

"Pinguicula lusitanica", commonly known as the Pale Butterwort, is a small butterwort that grows wild in acidic peat bog areas along coastal western Europe from western Scotland (north to Orkney) and Ireland south through western England and western France to Iberia, and Morocco in northwestern Africa.

It usually forms rosettes 3-5 cm (1 inch) across. It is a perennial plant that sometimes acts as an annual plant as it may die after one growth season. It flowers just months after germinating and produces copious amounts of seed, making it somewhat of a weed for carnivorous plant growers. The flowers are small, pale pink with a yellow centre, and funnel-shaped. It self pollinates to ensure that it will grow back the following year.

Cultivation

"P. lusitanica" grows easily in most environments as long as it is not directly exposed to the sun and is kept wet with rainwater. It will feed on any small insects including gnats, fruit flies, ants, small moths, and small mosquitos. "P. lusitanica" is considered an easy grower by many carnivorous plant growers and is a good candidate as a beginner carnivorous plant.

References

* [http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Pinguicula&SPECIES_XREF=lusitanica&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: "Pinguicula lusitanica"]