Blueflower Butterwort (Pinguicula caerulea)
Bladderwort Family (Lentibulariaceae)
Blueflower butterwort is a carnivorous perennial herb, arising from a basal rosette and reaching up to a foot tall. Almost the entire plant is sticky to the touch due to stalked glands used to trap and “digest” insects for nitrogen. The yellowish green leaves are only found basally, greasy-feeling, and upwardly inrolled along the edges. The 2-lipped flowers are deep to pale violet with usually darker veins and 5-lobed which are usually lobed or cleft themselves. The floral tube is hairy inside and has a basal spur and a projecting hairy greenish-yellow to cream structure called a palate. Flowers from December through May. Found in the coastal plain from Florida to North Carolina. It occurs in pine flatwoods, ditches, roadsides, and seeps, mostly on sandy to sandy-peaty soils. Listed as threatened by the state of Florida.
Copyright Brett Miley
