Utricularia purpurea

Family:LENTIBULARIACEAE
Species:Utricularia purpurea Walter
Common Name:Purple Bladderwort
Habitat:**
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Herb
Duration:Annual
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:UTPU
Plant Notes:Purple Bladderwort is a native aquatic annual or perennial in the Bladderwort family (Lentibulariaceae). It occurs in acidic ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams. Purple Bladderwort is found primarily in tannin-rich waters in southern Alabama. It is a perennial with free floating stems in shallow water. The stems are purplish or pale green in color. Leaves are whorled, flattened, and divided into 5-7 linear segments. Small hollow traps (bladders) are produced along the margins of the leaf segments. The bladders are hollow with a hinged lid. The plant pumps the water out of the bladder trap creating negative pressure. There are bristle like “triggers” located near the opening. When a small animal touches the bristles, the lid of the trap opens inward, sucking in water and the animal. The lid then closes and the prey is digested. Flowers are produced on 1-5 flowered racemes held above the water’s surface. Individual flowers are stalked. The corolla is pinkish-purple in color, 2-lipped, with the lower lip 3-lobed. The upper lip is smaller than the lower lip. The lower lip has a white and yellow spot at its base and is equal to or slightly longer than the curved horn-shaped white spur. The fruit is a round capsule. Purple Bladderwort traps often are dark in color and seem to be non-functional. They contain colonies of bacteria, algae, diatoms, and other micro-organisms that may provide the plant with nutrients in a mutualistic relationship. In cold climates Purple Bladderwort is an annual that produces small buds called turions that drop to the bottom and overwinter in the mud.--A. Diamond.
Taxonomic Notes:**
Status:Native, OBL (NWI)
References:**
Specimen: View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilyLENTIBULARIACEAE - Bladderwort family
Genus Utricularia
Species Utricularia purpurea Walter - Purple Bladderwort

Citation

Citation Utricularia purpurea Walter, Fl. Carol. 64. 1788.
Basionym: **
Type: USA: SOUTH CAROLINA: Charleston Co.: 6 mi. NW of McClellanville, 4 Aug 1939, Godfrey & Tryon 1097 (neotype: GH; isoneotypes: BH, CA, CAS, DUKE, F, MO, US). Neotypified by D.B. Ward, J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 2: 484. 2008.

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Utricularia saccata Utricularia saccata Leconte ex Elliott, Sketch Bot. S. Carolina 1: 21. 1816, nom. illegit.Utricularia purpurea Walter 1788. 
Utricularia violacea Utricularia violacea Barton, Fl. Virgin. 6. 1812, nom. illegit. et non R. Brown 1810.Utricularia purpurea Walter 1788. 
Vesiculina saccata Vesiculina saccata Rafinesque, Fl. Tellur. 4: 109. 1838 ("1836"), nom. illegit.Utricularia saccata Leconte ex Elliott 1816, nom. illegit.; Utricularia purpurea Walter 1788. 
Vesiculina purpurea Vesiculina purpurea (Walter) Rafinesque, Fl. Tellur. 4: 109. 1838 ("1836").Utricularia purpurea Walter 1788. 

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Baldwin, Clay, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Geneva, Jefferson, Mobile

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, AUA, JSU, SAMF, TROY, UNA, USAM, UWAL

Range of years during which specimens were collected: 1885 - 1998

Barcode / Accession No.
County
Coll. Date
Collector &
Collection No.
Herbarium &
Herbarium Name Used
Image
UNA00043088 Baldwin 08 Jul 1885 McNeill, Wm.
s.n.
UNA
Utricularia purpurea Walt.
AUA_ACC_13952 Baldwin 1 Apr 1965 MERRITT, WAYNE
AUA
UTRICULARIA PURPUREA WALT.
AUA_ACC_2588 Baldwin 1 May 1965 BROWN, JIMMY E.
13
AUA
UTRICULARIA PURPUREA WALT.
UNA00043091 Baldwin 30 Apr 1978 Harvey, Denise
325
UNA
Utricularia purpurea Walt.
UNA00043090 Baldwin 24 May 1980 Haynes, Robert R.
7810
UNA
Utricularia purpurea Walt.
UWAL0043846 Baldwin 13 May 2003 West, Chan
1240
UWAL
Utricularia purpurea Walter
ALNHS00001519 Baldwin 12 Sep 2012 Barger, T. Wayne
SP#783
ALNHS
Utricularia purpurea Walt.
UWAL0033721 Baldwin 03 Jun 2016 Keener, Brian R.
9664
UWAL
Utricularia purpurea Walter
UWAL0033720 Baldwin 03 Jun 2016 Keener, Brian R.
9664
UWAL
Utricularia purpurea Walter
ALNHS00005978 Baldwin 10 May 2017 Barger, T. Wayne
SP#3087
ALNHS
Utricularia purpurea Walt.
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