| Utricularia section Avesicarioides | ||
|---|---|---|
| Species | Range | Habit1 |
| U. rigida | w tropical Africa | R |
| U. tetraloba | Guinea, Sierra Leone | R |
| 1R=rheophyte. | ||
Q: About Utricularia subgenus Bivalvaria section Avesicarioides
A: This little Utricularia section has only two species
known from Africa. They are rheophytes, meaning they grow on rock faces under a film of moving water. They stay affixed in these situations
by means of their densely clawlike rhizoids which grip the rock. The rhizoids of most other Utricularia
are little useless growths, so it is interesting seeing them having functions here. The flowers of these species are mostly
white, with minor features such as yellow throat patches and some brown veining.
As far as I know, neither species has ever been in cultivation, and I bet cultivation will be dang hard.
Utricularia rigida
Distinguished from Utricularia tetraloba by its
two-lobed (instead of four-lobed) lower corolla lip. The plant is quite interesting in structure--long, pinnately divided leaves
branch from the mass of rock-affixing rhizoids, and presumably wave about in the flowing water.
Utricularia tetraloba
This is the smaller of the two species in the section. Its leaves are more
delicate--they are reduced to a single axis from which emerge rarely-divided, filamentous leaf segments.
Page citations: Rice, B.A. 2006a; Taylor, P. 1989; personal observations.
