The Carnivorous Plant FAQ v. 12

Utricularia section Oligocista
Species Range Habit1
U. adpressa Latin America T
U. albocaerulea India T
U. andongensis Africa T/L
U. arcuata India T
U. babui India, Thailand T
U. bifida Asia, Australia T
U. bosminifera Thailand T/AA
U. cecilii India T
U. chiribiquitensis Colombia, Venezuela T
U. circumvoluta n Australia T
U. delphinioides Indo-China T
U. erectiflora Latin America T
U. foveolata Africa, Asia-Pacific T/AA
U. graminifolia China, Indo-China T/AA
U. heterosepala Philippines AA
U. involvens se Asia, Australia T
U. laxa South America T
U. lazulina India T
U. letestui Central African Rep. T
U. lloydii Latin America T
U. macrocheilos Guinea, Sierra Leone T
U. meyeri Brazil T
U. micropetala Africa T
U. odorata Indo-China, Australia T
U. pierrei Indo-China T
U. pobeguinii Guinea T
U. polygaloides India, Sri Lanka T
U. praeterita India T
U. prehensilis Africa T
U. recta Asia T
U. reticulata India, Sri Lanka T/AA
U. scandens Africa, Asia T
U. smithiana India T/AA
U. spiralis Africa T
U. subramanyamii India T
U. tortilis Africa T
U. uliginosa Asia, Australia T/AA
U. vitellina Malaysia T
U. wightiana India T
1T=terrestrial; L=lithophyte; AA=affixed aquatic.

Q: About Utricularia subgenus Bivalvaria section Oligocista

A: Section Oligocista is the largest in the genus. Since the lobes of the calyx nearly enclose the fruit in some species, these plants were placed in a subgenus (Bivalvaria) by Kurz. Although discarded in Taylor's treatment of the genus, subgenus Bivalvaria has been resurrected in the new formulation of the genus that I follow, and once again includes section Oligocista, but this time with other sections as well. If you encounter a species in the genus with a spur that extends away from the rest of the flower, it is very likely a member of this section. (But not all the species have this character, so do not use it as an exclusive criterion.)

Many of these species are in cultivation and are easily grown as tropical terrestrials. Many of the really beautiful species are not in cultivation, however, and would be marvelous additions to conservatories or private collections.

The treatment by Ellison & Adamec (2018) includes the following changes....

1)The species U. subramanyamii is moved into section Meionula (itself very modified).

2)The taxon U. scandens subsp. firmula (Oliv.) Z.Y.Li is added.

3)The following species are added:
U. densiflora--see U. erectiflora, below.
U. jackii--see U. recta, below.
U. janarthanamii S.R.Yadav, Sardesai & S.P.Gaikwad--probably U. heterosepala.
U. malabarica Janarth. & A.N. Henry--a synonym for U. praeterita .
U. naikii S.R.Yadav, Sardesai & S.P.Gaikwad--a strange collection, not very compelling work.


Utricularia albocaerulea
I have not seen this plant, but it would be nice to get this into cultivation; it has flowers that are reportedly blue---not purple or pink, but really blue!

Utricularia andongensis
While the yellow flowers of this plant are not really too much to write home about, the leaves are actually fairly large (up to several cm long) and would be very interesting to study.

Utricularia bifida
I have grown this plant, but it was really unremarkable. It has small flowers that are not much larger than the calyx lobes, and in general not very pretty. Snoooooze.

Utricularia delphinioides
This plant, which makes dense inflorescences with many scented, dark-purple flowers, would be a real gem in cultivation. Oooooh, desire; oh avarice!

Utricularia erectiflora
Utricularia densiflora Baleeiro & C.P.Bove was described based upon a rather incomplete specimen of juvenile or cleistogamous flowers and unripe seeds. It seems closest to Utricularia erectiflora.

Utricularia graminifolia
A species with a number of different forms in cultivation. Many are listed as being U. reticulata, but none that I have seen with this identification were correctly labelled. I list this plant also as an affixed aquatic because it really thrives when grown in extremely wet conditions. It loves to grow out of the bottom of a pot and colonize the open water of a tray.

Utricularia lazulina
Another plant that, from the descriptions, sounds extremely pretty. Like Utricularia albocaerulea, it supposedly has clear blue flowers. Oooh.

Utricularia praeterita
It looks like this is the explanation for the species described as Utricularia malabarica.

Utricularia prehensilis
This species has twining scapes, which are a lot of fun to train up little sticks. The leaves are long, strap shaped, and hug the soil. For more on this species, refer to this ancient paper I wrote for Carnivorous Plant Newsletter.

Utricularia recta
A collection of this was incorrectly reported as a new species, Utricularia jackii J.Parn.

Utricularia reticulata
As I mention under my comments on Utricularia graminifolia, I have found many so-called "Utricularia reticulata" plants that were incorrectly identified.

Utricularia uliginosa
Another extremely easily grown species, in fact one that is too easily grown. It produces seed from its short-lived flowers, and these seed are all too determined to infest every one of your pots. Be very careful about letting this plant escape from its pot!

Utricularia vitellina
A small terrestrial species with characters that are a little strange for the section---Taylor thought this might merit relocation to section Chelidon but ultimately decided not to do so.

Page citations: Rice, B.A. 1994f, 2006a; Souza, P.C.B., and Bove, C.P. 2011; Taylor, P. 1989; personal observations.

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Revised: 2018
©Barry Rice, 2018