Alex Popovkin · CC BY 2.0
About
This small, mat-forming aquatic bladderwort, *Utricularia gibba*, is notable for its ability to colonize various aquatic environments and its exceptionally small genome size for a plant. It forms dense mats of branching stolons and is often considered an easy-to-grow species in cultivation.
Field notes
Morphology
The plant forms mats of criss-crossing, branching, thread-like stolons, which are 0.2–1 mm thick and can grow up to 20 cm or longer. Scattered along the stolons are leaf-like organs, which are 0.5–1.5 cm long and exhibit a short dichotomous branching pattern. The ovoid bladder traps, which replace some distal branches, are 1–2.5 mm long and feature two primary setiform branched appendages on top. Individual yellow flowers, which vary from 0.8 to 1.5 cm, are split into two lips, with the lower lip having a rounded, bilobed swelling.
Distribution & habitat
Native to the eastern United States, southeastern Canada, Central America, the Caribbean, the western Mediterranean, Southern Africa, and southern India. It thrives in ponds, lakes, ditches, pools, bogs, swamps, and marshes, whether still or slowly flowing.
Ecology
The species is carnivorous, using bladder traps attached to leaf-like structures to vacuum and digest prey. It is typically found in waters that are poor in available phosphorus and nitrogen.
Cultivation notes
It is considered one of the easier aquatic bladderworts to grow and can be successfully cultivated floating in a small cup or bowl within waterlogged peat, or easily grown in aquaria.
History & etymology
The specific epithet gibba is Latin for "hump" or "swelling," referencing the inflated base of the lower lip of the corolla. The diploid chromosome number is 2n = 28.
Habitat
- Altitude
- 0–1,500 m
- Altitude Class
- intermediate
- Native To
- United States, Japan, Brazil, Australia
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- easy
- Temperature
- Day 20–30°C / Night 14–22°C
- Humidity
- Aquatic
- Notes
- Floating aquatic species. Nearly cosmopolitan.
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