468 THE BLADDERWORT FAMILY. 



THE BLADDERWORT FAMILY. 



Lentibulariacecs 

 Aquatic or bog plants with leaves tufted about the base or produced ou 

 floatiug stems y and which bear on erect scapes or scaly bracted sterns^ either 

 solitary or ifi racemes^ irregular and perfect flowers^ with two-lipped cor- 

 ollas. 



HORNED BLADDERWORT. 



Utriculdria corniita. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Bladderwort. Yelloiv. Very fragrant. Florida to Newfoundland fune-August. 



and westward. 



Flowers : showy ; irregular ; one to six growing in a raceme at the end of a 

 naked, stout scape, their pedicels bracted. Calyx : \\\\h two nearly equal lobes, 

 Cf^rt-Z/a .- two-lipped ; broad; the lower lip large, somewhat helmet-shaj^ed, with 

 pubescent palate in the throat and, projecting at the base, a spur ; the upper one 

 erect, smaller and obovate. Stamens : two. Leaves: none, or reduced to a few 

 scales on the scape. Occasionally also there occur on the rooting stems a few 

 bladder-bearing, entire leaves. 



Differing from the purple bladderwort that grows in water, this one, being 

 a terrestrial species, grows by the ponds' borders or in bogs where its scapes 

 root freely in the mud, and it attracts us by the shining brightness and in- 

 tensely sweet fragrance of its unusual flowers. The bees also find them, for 

 the long curved spur projected by the large under-Hp is rich in nectar. 



U. siibuldta, zig-zag, or tiny bladderwort is distinct from its relatives 

 through the zig-zag line formed by its raceme of rather numerous although 

 small yellow flowers. It also is a terrestrial species of sandy, wet soil and 

 seldom produces on its few leaves any bladders. 



U. purpiirea, purple bladderwort, is one that grows in water and sends 

 out from the base of its scape of violet-purple flowers floating and finely dis- 

 sected leaves which are upheld by many small bladders. 



The Utricularias are a most interesting group, some members, like those 

 first described, being provided with a few bladder-bearing leaves or rootlets 

 under the surface of the ground. Again the aquatic species usually root in 

 the mud, or, rarely, float free wherever the wind or current wills, and are 

 provided with finely divided leaves which are literally covered with small 

 bladders. The bladders have an orifice or mouth which is closed by a little 

 lid and is furnished also with projecting bristles, the function of which is to 

 create a sort of current whereby water and small insects may be induced to 



