| Utricularia purpurea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Utricularia purpurea Walter - eastern purple bladderwort | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lentibulariaceae |
| Genus: | Utricularia |
| Subgenus: | Utricularia subg.Utricularia |
| Section: | Utriculariasect. Vesiculina |
| Species: | U. purpurea |
| Binomial name | |
| Utricularia purpurea | |
| Synonyms | |
Utricularia purpurea, theeastern purple bladderwort,[1] is a medium-sized suspended aquaticcarnivorous plant that belongs to thegenusUtricularia.U. purpurea isendemic toNorth andCentral America.[2] It has been suggested thatU. purpurea may have partially lost its appetite for carnivory. Richards (2001) did an extensive study in the field on it and noted that trapping rates of the usualUtricularia prey were significantly lower than in other species in the genus. Richards concludes that this species can still trap and digestarthropod prey in its specializedbladder traps, but does so sparingly. Instead, it harbors a community ofalgae,zooplankton, and debris in the bladders that indicatesU. purpurea favors a mutualistic interaction in place of a predator–prey relationship.[3]
U. purpurea has leaves that are whorled or alternately arranged. Scapes may reach up to 5 decimeters (approximately 20 inches) in height.[4]
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