Plant
Identification
Bladderwort
 Description Management
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Utricularia
spp.
True free-floating bladderworts
are annual plants that lack roots but have flowers on erect stems
above the water. The entire floating plant is only about 8 inches
tall. Flowers emerge above the surface and are yellowish with
3-lobes and a spur underneath. Underwater the leaf branches or
petioles are fleshy and inflated with air which allows them to
float. Leaves are whorled with 4 to 10 lateral leaves which fork
often giving them a very delicate capillary appearance. Bladderworts
are unique in that the underwater leaves bear small oval "bladders"
that trap and digest small aquatic creatures. Bladderworts are
usually
found in quiet shallow, acidic waters and can form dense mats.
Submerged portions of
all aquatic plants provide habitats for many micro and macro
invertebrates. These invertebrates in turn are used as food by
fish and other wildlife species (e.g. amphibians, reptiles, ducks,
etc.). After aquatic plants die, their decomposition by bacteria
and fungi provides food (called "detritus") for many aquatic
invertebrates. Bladderwort has no known direct food value to
wildlife.
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Floating
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" indicates Non-Native plants.