Utricularia humboldtii
Encyclopedia
Utricularia humboldtii is a large perennial
carnivorous plant
that belongs to the genus
Utricularia. Peter Taylor
lists it as either an "aquatic-epiphyte", a subaquatic or a terrestrial species. U. humboldtii is endemic to South America
, where it is found in Brazil
, Guyana
, and Venezuela
. It was originally published and described by Robert Hermann Schomburgk
in 1840. It is usually found growing in the water-filled leaf axils of some species of bromeliad, including Brocchinia micrantha
, B. tatei
, and B. reducta
and also plants in the genus Orectanthe. It also grows as an epiphyte
on tree trunks or as a subaquatic or terrestrial species in shallow water or wet soil in open savanna. It is found mostly between altitudes of 1200 m (3,937 ft) and 2500 m (8,202 ft), though it has been found at altitudes as low as 300 m (984 ft). It has been collected in flower throughout every month of the year.
U. humboldtii possess the largest flower of the genus and most likely also the largest bladder traps. As it usually lives within the water-filled leaf axils of bromeliads, it occasionally needs to search for new pools of water, so it sends out upright stolon
s that find nearby bromeliads, descend into the water, and grow into a new plant.
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants appear adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic...
that belongs to the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Utricularia. Peter Taylor
Peter Taylor (botanist)
Peter Geoffrey Taylor was a British botanist who worked at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew throughout his career in botany. Taylor was born in 1926 and joined the staff of the herbarium at Kew in 1948. He published his first new species, Utricularia pentadactyla, in 1954...
lists it as either an "aquatic-epiphyte", a subaquatic or a terrestrial species. U. humboldtii is endemic to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, where it is found in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. It was originally published and described by Robert Hermann Schomburgk
Robert Hermann Schomburgk
Sir Robert Hermann Schomburgk , was a German-born explorer for Great Britain who carried out geographical, ethnological and botanical studies in South America and the West Indies, and also fulfilled diplomatic missions for Great Britain in the Dominican Republic and Thailand.-Biography:Schomburgk...
in 1840. It is usually found growing in the water-filled leaf axils of some species of bromeliad, including Brocchinia micrantha
Brocchinia micrantha
Brocchinia micrantha is a species of the genus Brocchinia. This species is native to Venezuela.-References:* retrieved 3 November 2009...
, B. tatei
Brocchinia tatei
Brocchinia tatei is a species of the genus Brocchinia. This species is native to Venezuela.-References:* retrieved 3 November 2009...
, and B. reducta
Brocchinia reducta
Brocchinia reducta is one of few carnivorous bromeliads. It is native to southern Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana, and is found in nutrient-poor soil....
and also plants in the genus Orectanthe. It also grows as an epiphyte
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
on tree trunks or as a subaquatic or terrestrial species in shallow water or wet soil in open savanna. It is found mostly between altitudes of 1200 m (3,937 ft) and 2500 m (8,202 ft), though it has been found at altitudes as low as 300 m (984 ft). It has been collected in flower throughout every month of the year.
U. humboldtii possess the largest flower of the genus and most likely also the largest bladder traps. As it usually lives within the water-filled leaf axils of bromeliads, it occasionally needs to search for new pools of water, so it sends out upright stolon
Stolon
In biology, stolons are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external skeletons.-In botany:...
s that find nearby bromeliads, descend into the water, and grow into a new plant.