BUTTERWORT 37 



its back first of all one of the lobes oi the stig^ma which project beyond 

 tlie anthers. Their jjapillose surfaces are at first directed downwards 

 and stand near ilie upper lip. The insect then touches the anthers, 

 which open downwards, and is dusteci with their pollen. The stigma is 

 irritable, and capable of folding upwards immediately it is touched, so 

 that pollen from the same flower cannot be applied to the stigma, and 

 rows of hairs on its edge brush the pollen from the insect's head as it 

 draws back. The flower is closed and accessible only to Hies. 



The globular capsule opens by 2 valves, bursting irregularly, and 

 allows the seeds to be dispersed in the water and to sink or germinate 

 in the mud at the margin. 



Bladderwort is aquatic, and more or less independent of soil, though 

 addicted to more or less upland peaty districts as a helophyte or marsh 

 plant. 



A beetle, Phyllobrodca qiiadrinuriu/ata, feeds upon it. 



Utricnlaria, Linnaeus, is from the Latin iilriculiis, a little bladder, 

 from the bladder-like pitchers or floats, and the second name (Latin) 

 suggests that it is of common occurrence, which, however, is not the 

 case. 



It is known as Bladder-snout, Bladder-wort, Hooded Water Mil- 

 foil. The latter name was applied because of the hooded flowers and 

 finely-divided lea\-es. 



EssENTi.vL Specific Ch.\k.\cters: — 



244. Uiriciilaria vulgaris, L. — Stem submerged, floating, leaves 

 pinnate, with filiform segments, flowers yellow, spur half as long as 

 the lip, conical, upper lip equal to palate, margin ot lower lip refle.xed. 



Butterwort (Pingulcula vulgaris, L.) 



Butterwort is found in the Arctic and North Temperate regions in 

 Arctic Europe, N. Asia, and N. America, but it is not found in any 

 early deposits like other members of its association. In Great Britain 

 it is absent in the Peninsula province from Cornwall, and in the 

 Channel province occurs only in Dorset and N. Hants; in the Thames 

 province only in Herts, Berks, 0.\ford, Bucks, Anglia; in the Severn 

 province not in \V. Gloucs; in S. Wales not in Radnor, Pembroke, 

 Cardigan; in N. Wales not in Montgomery; in the Trent province 

 not now in Rutland; in the Mersey, Humber, Tyne, and Lakes 

 provinces; W. Lowlands; P2. Lowlands not in .Selkirk; E. High- 

 lands; in the W. Highlands not in Mid Ebudes; N. Highlands and 

 North Isles. It is rare in the south of lingland, and ascends to 



