Utricularia dichotoma, commonly known as fairy aprons, is a variable, perennial species of terrestrial bladderwort

Bladderwort

Utricularia, commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species . They occur in fresh water and wet soil as terrestrial or aquatic species across every continent except Antarctica...

. The specific epithet is Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 for "dividing into pairs" and refers to the double arrangement of flowers which this species often displays.

Morphology

Utricularia dichotoma is a low stoloniferous herb with leaves variable in size and shape. According to Curtis

Winifred Curtis

Winifred Mary Curtis was an Australian botanist, author and a pioneer researcher in plant embryology and cytology. She was born on 15 June 1905 in London, the only child of Herbert John Curtis and Elizabeth Winifred Curtis . She died on 14 October 2005 in Hobart.Curtis lived in India for several...

, they can range from oval-spathulate and 2-4 mm long to narrow-lanceolate and up to 40 mm long. The former is more typical of plants growing in wet soil, the latter of plants growing fully submerged. Inflorescences are 5-30 cm high, terminating in one or two pairs of flowers, or whorls of three. Numerous underground stolons bearing bladders 1.5-2 mm in diameter.

Distribution and habitat

This species has a large range and is native

Indigenous (ecology)

In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural organism has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native...

 to New Caledonia

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 (where it is present in all territories except Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

 and ACT

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...

) and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. Here it is present in the North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

, South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

 and Stewart Island/Rakiura

Stewart Island/Rakiura

Stewart Island/Rakiura is the third-largest island of New Zealand. It lies south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. Its permanent population is slightly over 400 people, most of whom live in the settlement of Oban.- History and naming :...

- this being the most southerly location at which a member of this genus occurs.