Only a Geek Could Love...
Visitors to the Pine
Barrens seeking carnivorous plants are often bedazzled by the various
Utricularia, and say weak things like "This photo shows an
unidentified
Utric species." This is quite inexcusable! The bladderworts are, with
few exceptions, quite easy to identify.
In this pond that Dave took me to, we found Utricularia subulata,
U. gibba, U. striata (pictured above), U. inflata, and
U. purpurea. Utricularia striata is easily identified because of
the nature of its dimorphic branches. Note that some are brown and leafy
(with bladders),
while others are white and bladder-bearing. This isn't the only
New Jersey species that has dimorphic leaves, but there are other characteristics
you can use to separate those other species.
Dave told me that he used to visit this lake when he was a kid. It wasn't
until later that he became interested in carnivorous plants, and he
realized that the lakeweed he used to pelt his two sisters with was really
something cool.
