Utricularia humboldtii

Taxobox


image_caption =
image_width = 220px
status =
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regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Lamiales
familia = Lentibulariaceae
genus = "Utricularia"
subgenus = "Utricularia"
sectio = "Orchidioides"
species = "U. humboldtii"
binomial = "Utricularia humboldtii"
binomial_authority = R.H.Schomb.
synonyms =
*"Calpidisca humboldtii" (R.H.Schomb.) Gleason
*"Orchyllium humboldtii" (R.H.Schomb.) Barnhart
*"U. humboldtii" f. "cuneata" Steyerm.

"Utricularia humboldtii" is a large perennial carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus "Utricularia". Peter Taylor lists it as either an "aquatic-epiphyte", a subaquatic or a terrestrial species. "U. humboldtii" is endemic to South America, where it is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela. It was originally published and described by Robert Hermann Schomburgk in 1840. It is usually found growing in the water-filled leaf axils of some species of bromeliad, including "Brocchinia micrantha", "B. tatei", and "B. reducta" and also plants in the genus "Orectanthe". It also grows as an epiphyte on tree trunks or as a subaquatic or terrestrial species in shallow water or wet soil in open savanna. It is found mostly between altitudes of convert|1200|m|ft|0|lk=on|abbr=on and convert|2500|m|ft|0|abbr=on, though it has been found at altitudes as low as convert|300|m|ft|0|abbr=on. It has been collected in flower throughout every month of the year.Taylor, Peter. (1989). "The genus "Utricularia": A taxonomic monograph." Kew Bulletin Additional Series XIV: London.]

"U. humboldtii" possess the largest flower of the genus and most likely also the largest bladder traps. As it usually lives within the water-filled leaf axils of bromeliads, it occasionally needs to search for new pools of water, so it sends out upright stolons that find nearby bromeliads, descend into the water, and grow into a new plant.

See also

* List of "Utricularia" species

References